King of Devils
by Duralzero
Summary: AU. A regular high school student is unexpectedly invited on an expedition with one of the world's richest men. However, her life is forever changed by their findings.
1. Chapter 1

**#1**

Sakura awoke with a cold sweat, short of breath. She looked around and sighed, relieved to find herself in her own room again.

_It was just a dream_ she thought. _But it felt so real._

It was still dark outside. She looked to her digital clock on her night stand. It read two fifty-two A.M.

_Get it together girl, you have a big day tomorrow._

Last night, she was visited by one of the world's richest men. He came to invite her to participate in some kind of expedition. She had gotten a weird feeling about the invitation and wanted to say no, but ended up saying yes instead. She was going to be very busy tomorrow so she couldn't afford to be tired. The pink haired girl sighed in exasperation and lied down onto her pillow, trying to recall the dream. She could only remember that it was too dark to really see anything. She had heard rapid gunfire then screams of agony. She then remembered the strong stench and taste of blood. However, the most prominent thing she saw was a pair of glowing red eyes. Other than that, she couldn't recall the entire dream. Whatever it was, it was very unpleasant.

_No use in losing sleep over it _she mused, pulling her blanket over her head.

* * *

Fortunately, Sakura was able to get several more hours of dreamless sleep. First thing that she did was got out of bed and went into the shower. She began thinking about the dream that she had last night. It had alarmed her that it had felt so real. She raised her hand and stared at it as it trembled. Was it really that frightening? Sakura blinked for a second--

--and the world around her went dark. Her eyes widened at her blood covered hand and at the blood curdling screams in the distance--

--then it was all gone in a blink of an eye. She was back in the shower staring at her hand as water trickled down.

_What was that?_ She wondered.

Though, it was only for a split second, she had seen enough to know that it was from her nightmare. However, this would be the first time that she would have visions of her dreams. It was unnerving nonetheless and it still filled her with dread for what the day had in store for her.

She stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in a towel before stepping out into her bedroom. She looked at the clothes that she had laid out on her bed. She had heard that it was going to be hot today and had settled on denim blue shorts with a red t-shirt with white sleeves. Today, she was going on an expedition trip with Trent Vincent, one of the richest men in the world and the current president of the economical OBORO Corporation. She stared at the clothes she had laid out.

_Is this really alright?_

* * *

A limo had arrived for Sakura later that morning. When she had got entered it, she found it to be more luxurious than the stories had made them out to be. It was a little longer than she had expected. The driver had been extremely courteous and had told her that if she had ever needed anything, she was to let him know. It wasn't long before Sakura found out that their destination had been Trent's large estate. A butler met her at the car.

"Good morning, Miss Haruno," he said with a curt bow. "Mr. Vincent has been waiting for you. Please, follow me."

Sakura nodded and followed the man as he ventured back into the house. The two trekked down a long hallway with Sakura noting the many beautiful rooms that they passed. She was still having some trouble accepting the fact that Trent Vincent, one of the richest men in the world, had invited her, an ordinary high school student, to his mansion. Her mind suddenly went blank when they arrived in front of a white pair of double doors. This was it. She was about to become one of the few people ever to meet Trent Vincent face to face. Pulling herself down to earth once more, she held her breath with anticipation as the butler pushed the doors open. She stepped out onto a stone veranda which gave her a gorgeous view of a garden in the morning scenery.

"Miss Haruno?"

Sakura turned around to see a man sitting a white table beneath a large parasol. He grinned.

"I am glad that you could make it," he said. "Please, come join me."

The pink haired girl blinked at him for a moment before approaching the other end of the table and sitting down in the chair and took a good look at him. He was wearing a white suit. He had a young rugged face though the gray lines in his gelled back hair told otherwise. His eyes were a mystery, concealed by his black circular sunglasses.

"Mr. Vincent?"

The man smiled.

"No formalities, please."

"Mr. Trent then," Sakura smiled. "It's an honor to finally meet you in person."

"Likewise," Trent smiled. "I hope you don't mind, but I was just about to have breakfast and had a meal prepared for you as well."

Just as he had said that, numerous servants came out from the house with a dish of food in each hand. Sakura watched with mild surprise as they placed them onto the table. There was enough to feed a five course meal to twelve people. This was no meal, this was a feast.

"Oh no, I couldn't," Sakura said automatically.

Trent smiled.

"Oh, but I insist."

Sakura smiled nervously.

"No, I mean I really can't eat all of this," she said.

Trent eyed her quizzically for a moment then looked down at the food. He began scratching his head sheepishly.

"Oh, well heh… I suppose I did go a bit overboard."

* * *

Sakura sat back in her chair, full from the delicious meal that that had been prepared. It had been a while since she had a breakfast that big.

"Now that that's taken care of, I suppose you want to know about the expedition you'll be joining me in."

"Yes," Sakura replied, leaning forward in her chair.

This was something she had actually meant to ask him about when they had talked over the phone a few days before.

"Well for starters, we are going to Madara Island."

Sakura eyed the man quizzically. At the moment, this expedition was beginning to sound like a vacation getaway.

"I've never hear of that island," she said.

"I'm not surprised," Trent replied. "Not too many people have."

He leaned forward with a smile on his face.

"There's an interesting myth on the island. I'll tell it to you if you're interested."

Sakura nodded. Trent sat back in his chair and clasped his hands together and smiled coolly.

"Long ago, there was a time when demons ruled the earth."

Sakura looked at Trent with a disbelieving eye, but held her tongue so that he could continue.

"Many of the demons were quite fearsome; however none of them could compare to Kyuubi no Yoko."

"Kyuubi no Yoko?" Sakura repeated, raising an eyebrow.

Trent nodded.

"Kyuubi no Yoko, the nine tailed fox demon," he said. "He was the strongest of demons and was known as the King of Demons because of his fearsome power."

Trent smiled when he noticed the awed look on Sakura's face.

"However, there was still hope for the world. A young hero arose to challenge the immortal demon king and defeated him and sealed the demons away."

"So where does Madara Island fall into that?" Sakura asked.

It was then that a butler came out from the house and approached Trent. Sakura watched curiously as he whispered into Trent's ear. A cool smile breached his lips as the butler pulled away and retreated back into the house.

"It seems that we will have to continue this for another time," he said, standing up. "It seems that our ride has arrived."

The man must've had unusual good timing because as soon as he said that, Sakura began hearing a beating sound in the air. She looked upwards to see a helicopter approaching the mansion.

* * *

Sakura followed Trent throughout the house until they exited a black metal door and onto the rooftop of the mansion, which turned out to be a heliport. The helicopter that was flying towards the mansion earlier had already landed there. A man in a black suit and red tie stepped out of the chopper and ran towards them. He stood in front of Trent.

"Mr. Vincent, it's good to see you again," he yelled over the sound of the chopper, shaking the said man's hand furiously. He then stepped towards the pink haired girl.

"You must be Sakura Haruno. We've been expecting you."

The man extended his hand. Sakura stared at it for a moment, before looking up and smiling at the man as she shook it.

"They're waiting for us so we should probably get going!"

"Agreed!" Trent responded.

The three of them then boarded the helicopter, and before Sakura knew it, they were in the air. The pink haired girl was sat next to Trent and across from…

"Where are my manners," Trent suddenly said. "Miss Haruno, this is an associate of mine, Dr. Kabuto Yakushi."

The man branded Doctor Yakushi, smiled.  
"It is a pleasure Miss Sakura," he said.

Sakura smiled.

* * *

To be truthful, she found this to be quite nice. However for some reason, she remembered those glowing pair of eyes from her dream. She couldn't figure out why she had thought about it.

"Are you alright Miss?"

The pink haired girl pulled herself from her thoughts and blinked at the concerned faces that were currently watching her. She smiled sheepishly.

"Oh, I'm fine," she said, waving them off. "I was just thinking about something."

The two men stared at her for a moment, until Dr. Yakushi's attention shifted towards Trent.

"Mr. Vincent, have you told her about the legend?"

Trent nodded.

"Yes, I told her earlier," he replied.

The doctor smiled.

"So, does she know why she was chosen to come with us?"

Sakura looked up at the man questioningly.

"No," Trent answered. "I haven't told her yet."

"So why _did_ you invite me on this trip?" Sakura asked. "You're only going to confirm a myth, right? So why bring me along?"

"Well you see…"

It was Dr. Yakushi who spoke.

"You're the very reason."

Sakura stared at the man, puzzled by his response.

"While researching this subject, we came across a priestess who assisted the hero in sealing away the demons," he said. "As it turned out, you're a descendant of that very priestess."

Sakura's eyes went wide.

"What?"

"It's true."

This time it was Trent who answered.

"When Dr. Yakushi discovered you, we already confirmed the existence of the young hero and the priestess."

"I see."

Sakura gave the two men a long and thoughtful look, before asking:

"Then is it also true that demons once ruled the world?"

Sakura did well to hide her nervousness. She was beginning to remember fragments of her nightmare again.

"That's what we're about to find out," said Trent.

Sakura then stared down onto the floor, thinking about what the two men had said. When she thought up her dream, she had begun to suspect…no, feel some kind of connection. However, before she could dwell on those thoughts any longer, the voice of the chopper pilot invaded her mind.

"Excuse me everyone," he yelled back. "But we have reached Madara Island and will be landed within a few seconds."

Upon hearing this, the trio fastened their seatbelts. Sakura took a deep breath to calm herself.

_There's no turning back._

* * *

Sakura stood on the heliport and took in her new surroundings. She noticed the numerous men wearing black fatigues. Most of them were armed with firearms. Sakura raised an eyebrow.

_They seem like a friendly bunch_ she thought sarcastically. _I hope they aren't the locals around here._

"Well, it seems that I won't be joining you in your adventure," Dr. Yakushi said suddenly.

The pink haired girl stared at the man incredulously.

"Why not?"

"It turns out that there are some things that I must take care of here."

He smiled ruefully at her.

"I hope you find something in your endeavor."

And with that, Sakura watched as Dr. Yakushi sauntered off towards one of the soldiers that were there.

"Miss Haruno..."

The pink haired girl blinked at the sound of her name. She turned around to see Trent approaching her from one of the soldierly grunts.

"Um, Mr. Vincent, what's with these soldiers?" Sakura asked.

Just then, one of the commandos ran towards them.

"We're ready whenever you are Mr. Vincent," he said.

Trent merely smiled as the man stood next to him.

"Miss Haruno, this is 1st Lieutenant Kakashi Hatake," he said.

The said man gave Sakura a nod of acknowledgment.

Kakashi was apparently a tall man with ash blond hair shaped in a bizarre hair cut. He wore an eye patch over his left eye and was dressed in black fatigues with matching body armor. He was armed down to the knee as if he were going to war.

"He and his men are going provide us with protection as they escort us to the temple," said Trent.

Sakura looked over to a passing commando and noticed him loading a magazine into what looked like an assault rifle.

_Protection from what? _She wondered.

* * *

**For now it seems that I'm off to a slow start, but there's still more to come.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm glad to see that I've caught the interest of some of you readers. Thanks for reviewing those who did. Now enjoy this next chapter.

* * *

**

#2

Sakura began to feel a little nervous as she treaded slowly down the path in the jungle. There were about fifteen commandos traveling with them, but that didn't make her feel at ease at all. In fact, they were the reason why she was so worked up in the first place.

_Why are there so many anyway?_

Their weapons were purely overkill for any dangerous wild animal that may decide to attack them during the journey. The fashion that they were traveling in reminded her of an incident that had happened to her when she was younger…

…An incident in which she had lost her mother.

Nonetheless, she really hated guns. When she looked at Trent, he gave her a comforting smile, which wasn't working. In truth, she was beginning to distrust Trent, sensing that there were maybe some things that he was keeping from her, like his intentions. Sure he had told her right before, but that didn't seem to be all there was to it.

"Are you alright?"

Sakura nearly jumped at the sound of the voice. She looked over to see Kakashi walking by her side.

"You seem a little distressed," he said.

Surprised at his concern, Sakura let a smile sneak onto her face.

"I'm fine," she said waving him off.

"If you say so," the man shrugged.

Sakura watched nonchalantly as Kakashi marched ahead. Truthfully, Sakura was almost as suspicious of him as she was with Trent, however different. The difference was that she felt she could trust him. It must've been the way he presented himself.

_It wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on him_ Sakura mused.

Suddenly, the pathway ended and the pink haired girl found herself in a large clearing, standing in front of the ruins of a large tower that appeared to be halfway buried under the ground.

"Here it is," Trent whispered.

Sakura stared in awe at the tower

The base of the tower was wide and then narrowed towards the top. Vines covered the sides of it around the base. The architecture was a dark ebony color and had various statues of demonic creatures engraved into the tower. For some reason, Sakura began to feel a dark aura emanating from the tower. Her uneasiness began to rise.

"Mr. Trent? What is this place?"

The man smiled at her before answering.

"Some say that this _place _is where the languages of the new world were believed to be born," he said. "The reality is, this is where the dark age of mankind began. Madara Uchiha, the man whom this island is named after, began a new type of religion here."

"Like a cult?" Sakura surmised.

"Madara's followers built this place and aimed so that this tower could reach the gates of heaven itself, but before its completion, Madara was killed by a man named Namikaze Minato."

Trent then closed his eyes as if he was going into deep thought.

"How ironic that Minato's son was entombed here."

The pink haired girl stared at the man hard.

"Ironic?"

Trent turned to her.

"This tower was a sanctuary for worshipping devils," he said grimly. "More specifically, Kyuubi no Yoko."

Sakura suddenly gained a very bad feeling about this. Maybe she shouldn't have agreed to this after all.

"We'll go in first," Kakashi told Trent and then headed towards the tower with five other soldiers. Sakura eyed him closely. Judging the uneasiness in his voice, Sakura figured that he was feeling pretty much the same way. Now she could give a guess at why the commandos were there. They were to provide protection from whatever was awaiting them in that tower. After a few minutes of waiting around, the ash blonde haired man called for them, saying that it was safe to enter. However, Sakura couldn't help but wonder…

_Will we come out?_

* * *

The air was damp and heavy in the narrow hallway that they were venturing in. She found that it was so dark inside that she couldn't see her own hand in front of her. She grew a little worried when something seemed to have alerted the commandos. They had their assault rifles raised with flashlights attached as if waiting for anything to lunge at them. Sakura almost jumped when a hand latched onto her shoulder. She would've screamed if she hadn't heard the familiar voice that followed.

"Hey, relax nothing bad is gonna happen to you," it said.

Sakura let out a sigh of relief. It was only Kakashi and not some 'thing' attempting to mutilate her or anything. Her imagination tended to get the best of her at times.

"Thank-you," she said to him with a small smile.

"Don't mention it," Kakashi replied.

* * *

Although only a few steps ahead, Trent heard the entire exchange between the two. When Kakashi started moving to catch up with the rest of the party, Trent stopped.

"I appreciate what you are doing for her," he said, as Kakashi passed him. "Keeping her calm, that is."

"It isn't a problem sir," Kakashi replied nonchalantly.

Trent watched as he moved further away from him to catch up with the group. He smiled when Sakura glanced at him as she passed him by. His smile then faded once she had her back to him.

"Zabuza," he called out quietly to a passing soldier. The commando known as Zabuza stopped and faced Trent. He was in black fatigues like the rest of the mercenaries, but was one of the few who wore a matching ski mask.

"Sir?"

"I want you to keep an eye on Kakashi," Trent said. "If he tries anything strange, shoot him."

"Yes sir," Zabuza replied.

After what seemed like hours of walking, the group suddenly halted. Before Sakura could question why, she saw it. The commandos were flashing their lights on what appeared to be a giant golden door. It was decorated from top to bottom with some kind of engraving of a language that she had never seen before.

"How the hell do we get past something like this?" one of the commandos asked another.

Distantly, Sakura was wondering the same thing. Surprisingly to her, when the group suddenly stopped, she began to realize how tired she was and placed her hand against the wall for support. When she did, engravings that were on the walls hidden by in the darkness began to glow a faint ominous red color. Upon seeing this, Sakura quickly pulled her hand away and backed up. Soon, the inscription on the stone door mimicked the walls. Just then, the group was taken by surprise by a sudden earthquake.

"Everyone Hold on to something," Kakashi yelled. Being there wasn't much to hold on to, everyone leaned against the wall and grabbed as best as they could. Everyone did except for Trent. He merely stood his ground with a smile across his lips. He watched as the golden door began to part.

_And just one final lock remains_ he thought.

Now that the door was open, the earthquake had finally ceased. Kakashi stared alarmed.

_Why did the door open?_ He wondered, then looked towards Sakura who reeling from the quake as well.

_Is it because of her?_

The next corridor wasn't as dark or as narrow as the first. Strangely enough, the group's sources of light were the walls, floor and ceiling emitting a faint green light, all of which also had the bizarre engravings. However, the group merely ignored this and continued on undaunted. Sakura however, had become more unnerved ever since they had entered the hallway. This was mostly because of the chanting whispers that seemed to echo around her. She looked around at all of the commandos. Why weren't they wary of these warnings? Didn't they find the disembodied voices somewhat disturbing? She even stared at Trent and even he didn't appear to be bothered by them. Just then it dawned on her.

_They can't hear them_.

"Is everything alright Miss Haruno?" Sakura snapped from her thoughts and realized that she had been staring at Trent. He sounded concern but she couldn't really tell. Oddly, he was still wearing those circular sunglasses.

"Mr. Vincent, I think we should turn back," Sakura said.

"Why? Is there something wrong?"

"Well, actually…I don't know," Sakura, sighed. "I just have a bad feeling about this."

Trent then, seemed to go into deep thought.

"Very well then," he said. "If it bothers you that much then perhaps we cou—"

He was cut off when the giant golden door thunderously slammed shut behind them. Trent stared somewhat surprised.

"Or perhaps not."

A few of the mercenaries went to tend to the only apparent exit, several small pillars rose from the ground, forming a wall and separating the commandos from the main group.

"C'mon, lets go!" Kakashi yelled, realizing what was happening. As the group ran, pillars began to rise from the floor walls and the ceiling. Suddenly, pillars split the group up and formed a wall. Finding herself one of the separated, Sakura stepped back and frantically looked around for another exit, but to no avail. She and Trent were boxed in with only a handful of soldiers. Just when things seemed grave, suddenly, a narrow doorway formed in the wall beside them. Trent turned to one of the commandos.

"Zabuza…"

Zabuza nodded and stepped towards the doorway. He inspected it before turning back to the group.

"Let's move," he said, before disappearing through the door.

Initially, Sakura wanted to find a different way out. However, now that the circumstances had changed, she no longer had much of a choice. She stepped in line of with soldiers as they stepped through the door. Sakura watched as the commando in front of her descended a spiral staircase. She shuddered as she stared down. She had horribly haunting feeling that there was something waiting for them.

* * *

The corridor at the bottom of the stairs was very different compared to the rest of the ruin. To Sakura's surprise, it was much better improved and as she would put it, much cleaner as well. The walls weren't old and dusty and had no cracks in them. She was even more surprised to be able to see her own reflection in the floor. Her first thought was that Trent had been down here before, but after reminding herself of the wall trap made his visit seem unlikely. The group soon entered a hallway through a gargantuan door. However, it seemed larger than the first and also more mechanical rather than golden. Engravings were present on this door as well. The commandos gathered at the door, but formed a path and looked back, eyeing Trent expectantly. He merely smiled and pulled a small red book from the inner pocket of his jacket as he approached the door.

"I'm really glad that you've decided to come with us Miss Haruno," he said, opening his book and studying its contents. "We couldn't have gotten this far without you."

Upon hearing the comment, Sakura eyed Trent quizzically.

"What do you mean?"

Without looking up from his book, Trent began to run his hands along the engravings.

"You were the one who opened the door for us. Not only that, you were the one who guided us here."

Sakura wasn't following.

_What the hell is he talking about?_

"The walls that revealed this path to us," Trent then closed his book and looked at her with a dark smile on his face. "Is everything beginning to make sense now?"

Just then, two of the soldiers seized her arms from behind.

"What're you doing?! Let me go!" she yelled as she struggled. She struggled in vain as they forced her to Trent's side. Her eyes widened in horror as one of the soldiers handed him a combat knife. Were they going to kill her?

"And now for the final key," Trent said eyeing the knife then smiling at her.

Sakura could feel her heart pounding in her chest as Trent began to inch the knife towards her. She began shaking her head.

"N-No, please don't," she pleaded.

To her surprise, Trent grabbed her wrist and raised her arm, much her surprise and gently wrapped her hand around the blade. Sakura winced as she felt the knife cut her when Trent roughly pulled it from her hand. Judging from the amount of blood that was on the knife, the wound must've been deep.

"Remember what I said?" Trent asked then placed her hand on the door. "It's in your blood."

Sakura watched in astonishment as the gears that were in the door began to move and bars began to slide. Then the door slowly began to part. The room had shook while this was taking place though not as badly as earlier. As one of the soldiers began to wrap Sakura's hand with a bandage, she stared at Trent in disbelief.

"What? You didn't actually think that I was going to kill you did you?" he asked. He then looked into the dark chamber that was ahead of them and looked back to the soldiers. "Let's proceed, shall we gentlemen?"

* * *

**Sometimes, it's hard to come up with some history for fics. Originally, I had thought to make a biblical reference in this chapter to make it more interesting, but then I decided to save it for another fic of mine. Well, hope you liked this chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Looks like I've caught more attention than I thought I would. Enjoy.**

* * *

**# 3**

_My blood..._

Sakura held up her bandaged hand and stared intently at it as she walked with the group down a narrow hallway.

_Everything that happened was caused by my blood._

Sakura then shifted her gaze onto Trent's back. She was still a little shaken from that stunt he pulled earlier and now she was beginning to wonder...

_How did he know that?_

Trent had known everything from the start. Why the door opened, why the walls separated them from the other soldiers, everything. One of the questions that remained was what was he particularly after. Now that she thought about it, he knew that he would need her to open the doors. What made it even odder were the bizarre locks or spells, not to mention the traps. Everything inside this ruin seemed designed not only to keep people out, but to keep something in. So the other question was...

_What in God's name are they keeping down here?_

Trent had told her that this was the tomb of the young man who had defeated the demon king, but after everything that she had been through so far, she was beginning to believe that she wasn't getting all of the facts. She narrowed her eyes at the middle aged man. She had grown tired of any surprises that he might have had in store for her. She was soon pulled from her suspicions of Trent when the hallway suddenly ended. She was momentarily surprised to see some of the commandos in front of her fall from view, but then learned that the staircase in front had crumbled most likely from age. One of the mercenaries extended his hand and her to help her down. She was a surprised to land in ankle deep water.

Sakura looked around taking in her new surroundings. The chamber was gargantuan and dark. The only thing that seemed to really be illuminating the room was the strange pillar of light glowing dimly in the center. What made it even more bizarre was that there appeared to be a young man frozen inside. He appeared no older than her. He had strange lines on his cheeks and unruly blond hair. He seemed to be sleeping peacefully. Suddenly, the pink haired girl began having chills.

_I've seen this before_.

She was had been getting bad vibes ever since they first entered the ruins and now they were beginning to intensify. She then saw Trent approaching the pillar with a few commandos and began to follow.

"Magnificent," she heard him say as he gazed at the young boy in suspended animation.

"Is that the young hero?" Sakura asked, standing behind him.

"Yes, yes it is," Trent replied. "Miss Sakura, I cannot begin how to show my appreciation for getting us this far."

Sakura said nothing, but continued staring cautiously at the middle aged man.

"I must thank you for you participation."

"Mr. Trent, what are you really after?" Sakura asked suddenly.

"I plan to take this body for further study," he replied. "I'm impressed on how well preserved it is."

"I see."

So he was merely planning to take the young hero's body for research or at least that's what it sounded like. Sakura however, wasn't buying it. The people who built this place went through a lot of trouble to keep people out and to keep whatever was there inside. Somehow, she knew that whatever they were keeping inside had something to do with that boy.

"I don't think that's wise," she said.

Trent turned and eyed her quizzically.

"You don't? May I ask why?"

"About that story you told me..."

"What about it?" Trent asked, sounding somewhat impatient.

"Whatever happened to the demon king?" Sakura asked. "You said that he was immortal so how did the young hero defeat him?"

Trent appeared to be taken aback by the question, but then smirked.

"It's interesting that you would ask such a thing," he said, turning towards the boy. "You are correct. The young hero could not kill the demon king."

Sakura scowled. Something about the tone in his voice set off warning bells in her head.

"So what did he do?"

Trent turned towards her wearing a dark smile.

"He sealed it within himself."

Sakura was shocked.

"W-What?"

"And doing so," Trent pushed his glasses back. "He inherited its powers, thus becoming the new demon king."

Sakura said nothing but stared in disbelief. She looked back towards the boy.

"He's…the demon king?"

"Yes, Miss Haruno," Trent said coolly. "This boy you see before you is the demon king."

"And you want to take him out of here?"

"Yes," Trent answered. "Given the state he's in, he can't do much harm."

Right when he said that, a few of the commandos began gathering around the pillar of light. Sakura stared downward before looking towards the group of soldiers. She had been right about Trent's intentions. She had thought to do something and was about to act upon it and then it happened…

Something moved.

Sakura didn't see exactly what it was. She only saw a shadow of some type a creature speed towards one of the soldiers and then disappeared as he soared across the chamber. Other commandos came running to his aid when he landed.

"Are you alright," one the soldiers asked him.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine," the fallen commando replied.

_What in the hell was that_?! Sakura wondered as she watched the soldiers.

It had already dawned on her that she was probably the only one able to have seen it. Last she'd checked, shadows didn't move by themselves.

…did they?

"Very good," Trent suddenly said, undaunted by the sudden 'interruption'. "Now, could we please continue with the extraction?"

The remaining commandos again approached the pillar of light—

--only to have it happen again; this time rapidly. Commandoes raised their rifles, pointing them in every direction as their comrades were sent flying left and right. None of them knew what was causing this frighteningly bizarre phenomenon. Not even Sakura, who had been witnessing the shadows attacking the soldiers. What in the world was happening?

However before anything could be figured out, something stranger had happened…

The phenomenon suddenly stopped.

The chamber was again as quiet as they had found it. Several soldiers lied lifelessly on the floor in front of the pillar of light. Although, the peaceful atmosphere had returned, the ordeal had left Sakura terribly frightened. For a moment, no one moved; not even Trent.

"S-Sir?"

The middle aged man turned to the soldier standing next to him. Amazingly, he was unable to say anything to the soldier. He was at a loss for words, his mind trying to make sense of what just happened.

"What…the…hell?"

That last comment had came from one of the remaining commandos. All those remaining then saw what the soldier was referring to.

The fallen soldiers were rising.

Each of them was standing up from the ground in such a way that would not be considered normal. Each of them rose from the ground as if pulled up by some unseen force. One of the remaining soldiers stepped forward.

"H-Hey Jirou, you okay?" he asked one of the soldiers.

The soldier addressed as Jirou oddly turned towards his colleague. Instead of a verbal response, Jirou raised his assault rifle and unloaded a barrage of bullets into his comrade until he was riddled with holes.

"Better than ever," Jirou answered as his teammate dropped to the ground.

As Jirou casually began reloading his weapon, the all of the remaining soldiers pointed their guns at him.

"Listen everyone, Jirou is crazed," one of the remaining commandos said with authority. "He is—"

Suddenly, a barrage of gunfire erupted, dropping quite a number of the remaining soldiers. Sakura crouched down in horror with her hands over her head.

_Oh God! Why me?!_

It was happening, just like her dream. What had she done to deserve this? She was only a regular schoolgirl who got pulled along for the ride.

_I should've stayed home!_

Suddenly, there was an explosion of light that blew everyone off their feet and onto the watered floor. Sakura, who had landed on her butt, really did not appreciate the fact that she was now soaked from the waist down. Her fear temporarily forgotten, she had begun to stand up, but a realization prevented her from doing so.

There was someone standing in front of her.

Her eyes went wide for she did not recognize this new figure. She slowly traced the form from the sky blue pant legs, to a matching shirt, and finally onto a pair of red iris eyes with slit pupils in them. It was then that it dawned on her that it was the young man who was earlier frozen in the pillar of light that was seemingly no longer present. The color of his eyes told her that he was something far from human. Frantically she began scooting away from the creature in hopes of creating distance. However, he merely smiled sinisterly and calmly followed after her. She had originally planned to turn and run as soon as the chance came, but her plan hit a snag.

She had backed into a wall.

The young man stood in front her with that same smile and crouched down to her level and placed an arm against the wall. He leaned in close enough for her to feel his breath.

"I thank you for freeing me princess," he said in a low voice.

Suddenly Sakura wasn't so afraid anymore. Without realizing it, she had let her guard down and allowed herself to be hypnotized by his gaze.

"To show you my appreciation, I will grant you one wish."

Sakura was taken back by the offer. Considering what she had been through already, she was a little more than willing to believe.

_But just one…?_

The young man began leaning closer to her.

"Tell me your desire," he said.

"I… want…"

A faint blush stained her cheeks. He was already a lot closer than she had wanted and now he was inching closer.

"Hurry up and tell me," he insisted again.

"I want…"

He was much closer now. Was he going to kiss her? Inwardly, she wanted to protest, but in reality she didn't really mind. He was pretty handsome after all.

"What is your wish?" he asked, sounding softer now.

Sakura closed her eyes.

"I want…"

She could tell that he was getting a little impatient. She this was an opportunity to wish for anything in the world. After all…

"…to go home."

It was only one wish.

"I want to go home."

It was her only chance.

The young man had stopped his advance, merely an inch from her lips. He then grinned and whispered…

"Your wish is my command."

He pulled away and stood up. Sakura snapped out of her reverie and stared up in surprise at the young man who merely smirked at her in return. He suddenly threw his fist back and struck some thing and sent it slamming into the ground. As Sakura slowly stood up, she watched with eyes wide as it splashed around, squirming from the hit. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a scrawny black pterodactyl-like creature—

--and there were more of them, literally ripping from the backs of the fallen soldiers. All of a sudden, she didn't want to stick around anymore.

"Sakura!"

The pink haired girl blinked. Who in the world called her name? She looked around, trying to find the source when she came across a familiar figure. Her she stared in disbelief.

"K-Kakashi?!"

"Glad you remembered by name," he said, smiling. "But really, we need to leave."

Needless to say, Sakura ran towards the commando, leaving the young man to deal with the black creatures.

"I'm glad to see that you're alright Miss Sakura," Kakashi said, as she and the girl in question ran down a hallway.

"The same," the pink haired girl replied.


	4. Chapter 4

**It seems that quite a number of you found the last chapter interesting and I hope that this chapter will be as amusing. Enjoy.**

* * *

**#4**

The two slowed to a stop after Kakashi suggested that they'd take a break. They had been running for a while so that they were far from the chamber. For the moment, everything seemed quiet, but Kakashi wasn't letting his guard down. They sat down on opposite sides of the corridor.

"Weren't there some people with you?" Sakura suddenly asked.

"Yeah, but not anymore," Kakashi answered bluntly. "I'm sure I don't have to tell you what happened to them."

Sakura's eyes saddened upon hearing the response and stared at the ground. It was true; he didn't have to tell her because she already knew.

"Those monsters…" she murmured. "Were those…?"

"…Demons?" Kakashi finished for her. "Yeah they were and I'm sure there's plenty more wandering around."

"What happened to your other gun?"

"It ran out of ammo," Kakashi deadpanned. "All I got left is this SOCOM pistol and a few grenades."

Sakura looked down at the pistol and grimaced. With that much weaponry remaining, Kakashi wouldn't be able to defend them for long once something very big showed up.

And she really hoped that nothing big showed up.

"Well, I think we should get moving," Kakashi said, getting up. "I'm in no mood to meet anymore demons."

"I agree," Sakura responded, standing up as well.

The two then cautiously continued down the long dark hallway. As they traveled on, Sakura began to notice something.

_Cobwebs? _

It was strange. Up until now, Sakura hadn't seen any webbing despite how old the place was. After looking around, she realized that she hadn't seen a speck of dust anywhere within the tower and remembered how well kept it seemed. Needless to say, Sakura didn't like what her intuition was telling her. However she continued moving, staying close to Kakashi. As time went on, she began to notice more and more 'cobwebs' on select places in the corridor. The further they progressed down the hallway, the thicker the webbings seemed. She began to feel her skin crawl.

"I'm getting a bad feeling about this," Kakashi said suddenly.

Sakura guessed that he was beginning to notice their surroundings. He wasn't the only one. Soon they entered a large chamber much like the first. Unlike the first, there was no water on the floor and there was a chasm that covered the left half of the room. The thick webbing on almost aspect of the room and the tingling feeling she was getting on her skin told Sakura one thing…

There were spiders.

She really hated spiders. And from what she could tell, there were either a lot of them, or that they were very large spiders. The pink haired girl hadn't noticed that she had begun trembling.

"Y'know,"

Kakashi looked back at her.

"Maybe we should turn back and—"

He was cut off by the sound of a piercing shrill. Both he and the Sakura whirled around to see some _thing_ approaching them from the doorway. As far as they could tell, it had the build of a man, but from the waist down, it had the abdomen of a spider. Its arms were coated red and they seemed to be like the arms of a praying mantis. The pink haired girl gulped as it grinned at them, showing its long steak-knife like teeth while at the same time it glared at them with its beady blood red eyes. It raised its arms and let out another screech, making Sakura flinch.

This time, there was a response.

The two looked back to see two more of these creatures approaching them as another dropped down via its web line and followed suit. Kakashi grimaced. This was probably one the worst situations that they could've gotten into.

They were surrounded.

Just then, one of the creatures moved forwards as if it were about to attack—

--only to have a grenade shoved into its mouth. Kakashi then kicked the creature, causing it to back away.

"Down!"

Suddenly, Sakura found herself diving towards the floor as the creature exploded and cringed as remains scattered everywhere. She then looked up to see Kakashi now shooting at the demons with his handgun. One of them dropped to floor, dead. Upon seeing the green fluids oozing from beneath it, Sakura quickly got up and began backing away from the battle as Kakashi slowly followed suit, but not without dropping another spider creature. He fired another eight or nine shots, before his gun clicked empty.

"Shit."

It was then that one of the creatures began making a noise that sounded as if it were laughing. The silver head commando chucked his empty gun at its head, cutting off its laughter. Unfortunately, the creature merely shook it off and hissed as it continued to approach. Kakashi then backed away a little quicker towards where Sakura was, but stopped right in front of her. He glanced back at her from over his shoulder.

_I guess there's no choice, _he thought.

Sakura watched as Kakashi pulled off his eye patch and threw it to the floor. When he grabbed the wrist of his left arm, she watched in amazement as what seemed to be a ball of lightning appeared in the palm of his hand. The lightning then seemed to absorb his hand into it and Sakura stared at the back of the silver haired commando—

--only to see him disappear before her eyes. What was seen next was only a blur of light passing from creature to creature.

"Are you alright?"

The pink haired girl nearly jumped when she heard the voice. She looked to her left to surprisingly see Kakashi standing there. With eyes wide, she nodded. The soldier smiled.

"Well I'm glad to hear it."

Strangely enough, the moment he said that, the creatures fell to pieces on the ground with their green fluids pouring everywhere.

"Well now, let's get moving," Kakashi suddenly said, walking towards the exit.

Sakura had yet to move. She was still shocked by everything that had just happened. She watched as the commando bent over to pick up his eye patch. It had gotten some fluid on it but he merely shook it and wiped it on his clothes before fitting it back on. It was obvious that he was more used to this sort of thing than any of the other soldiers. Last she checked, commandos weren't able to do that.

_And what's up with his eye?_

She had noticed the scar driving through it earlier, but when she saw the eye patch, she had assumed that he had lost it during some mission. However, she saw it just now. In contrast to his dark brown eye, his left eye was a blood red color with black "wisps" surrounding his pupil. It was apparent that some questions needed answering.

"What are you?" Sakura asked suddenly.

This caused Kakashi to stop. He turned towards her and stared at her for a moment and then smiled.

"I'm a devil hunter," he said nonchalantly.

Sakura blinked.

"A-A devil hunter?"

"Yeah," he replied. "I'll explain more when we get out of here. Now—"

Kakashi paused and then looked at her perplexed.

"Um, hey are you okay?"

For some reason, he noticed that Sakura was wearing a horrified expression at the moment. She was staring past him which meant…

…there was something behind him.

Kakashi whirled around to see what the pink haired girl was staring at but he was sent flying into a wall where he lost consciousness.

Sakura couldn't believe how bad things had just gotten. Kakashi, her only chance of survival, was just taken out by a huge demon. Not only that, it was hairy, it was ugly…

"Well, well, what do we have here?"

…and it could talk.

As far as she could tell, it seemed to be a crossover with the head of a Siberian tiger and the body of a brown recluse spider that was the size of a mansion. The pink haired girl trembled as it inched closer to her, focusing all eight of its red eyes on her. It was safe to say that her fear of spiders had just reached new heights. The demon laughed.

"Don't worry, I won't bite you hard," he said. "As a matter of fact, you won't even feel a thing."

Suddenly, everything began to darken around her. Her legs began to weaken beneath her. She didn't even seem to realize that when the demon opened his mouth, giant mandibles began extending towards her. Finally, her body gave out and she collapsed.

She couldn't take it anymore.

* * *

**A bit shorter than the other two. Not to worry though, the next chapter won't be as short and maybe it'll be longer. Thanks for reviewing those that did.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Well, here it is as promised.**

* * *

**#5**

"Ungh, I'm definitely gonna feel that in the morning."

Kakashi shook his head to rid himself of the vertigo that threatened to overtake him. As soon as his vision cleared, he looked up to see the pink haired girl's unconscious form, blissfully unaware of the demon approaching her. Immediately he went to stand and run to her. However, when he stood up, he dropped back into a crouching position.

_Crap._

He had taken more damage from the hit than he had thought. He wouldn't be fast enough to save Sakura. He stared towards the ground, knowing that her end was near. However, something happened.

The giant spider-like demon was wounded.

Kakashi watched, dumbfounded as the demon roared in pain as it jumped away from Sakura.

_What just happen?_

The roars soon turned into cries of agony as the demon shook his head.

"GAAAAAAAGGHHHHHH! MY EYE!!"

Kakashi stared in disbelief as he noticed the large black spot where one of the demon's eyes had been. Someone or some_thing _had wounded him. When he looked back towards Sakura, he realized something…

There was someone standing over her unconscious form.

The figure was in a sky blue jumpsuit and had unruly blond hair. Kakashi recognized this new comer.

_He followed us?!_

The commando stared incredulously at the boy. He didn't exactly know what to make of this. After seeing his dark nature, he found it quite unusual that he would go out of his way to save her. The demon soon recovered from the initial shock of the attack enough to look to see the assailant.

"A Human?!" the demon growled. "Damn you! You shall pay for this!"

Suddenly, he let out a piercing roar at the boy. Kakashi's eye widened as he watched as three more of the spider-like demons somersault from the corners of the room and landed in unison, surrounding the boy. Before the boy could react, the creatures thrust their sword-like pincers into him. The boy's arms fell limply at his sides and he hung his head. The tarantula demon laughed.

"That's what you get for being overconfident!" he sneered.

Kakashi mentally swore as the laughter began to echo throughout the chamber. He wasn't able to move and as far as he could tell, he and Sakura would be next after the demon was finished relishing his victory. Despite the noise, he began to hear a sound.

The sound of sinister chuckling.

Kakashi looked up towards the boy. For some reason, it sounded louder than anything else; even the demon's laughter. He must've begun hearing it as well for his laughter began to die until he was staring at him as well. All eyes were on him as the chuckle morphed into laughter. The demon stared in shock at the laughing boy.

"W-Why aren't you dead?!"

The boy's laughter soon died as he grinned sadistically at the demon. Suddenly, he twisted his body so quickly that it ripped off the arms of the spider demons. Time seemed to slow as the boy then pulled two of the dislodged arms and held them out as he spun once, cutting the spiders' legs from beneath them. He stood upright and impaled the pincers into two of the shrieking demons, silencing them both. The demon stared in horror at the boy.

"You're…not human are you?" he asked.

The blond merely smirked in response as he pulled out another pincer from his torso. The demon was not expecting for the boy to throw the pincer—

--neither did he expect it to plunge into another eye.

"Gyaaaaaaaggghhhhh!!"

Kakashi stared at the demon, awed at everything that had just happened. It was pretty obvious that the boy wasn't human. The blond pulled out the remaining pincers from his torso and discarded one of them. He tore off the forearm that was still attached to the remaining arm and examined it.

_A sword? _Kakashi mused.

"Damn you!"

The tarantula-like monster was glaring at the boy now.

"Damn you, Damn you, Damn you!"

The boy smirked at the demon.

"Human or not…"

Green slime began dripping from his fangs.

"DIE!!"

Suddenly green liquid launched from the monsters mouth. The blond threw the sword in response then quickly turned around and scooped the unconscious pink-haired girl into his arms bridal style and jumped away just as the green liquid splattered all over where they just were. Flew straight into another one of the demon's eyes and began roaring in pain once again.

"IT BURNS!! GAAAGGGGHH!!"

Kakashi stared at the boy, who was now laying the unconscious Sakura against the wall. He found it amazing that the two had remained physically 'untouched'. The commando then looked towards the demon that was currently shaking its head in pain. The boy had taken out not just one eye, but three eyes with little effort. At first he was confused about the demon saying his eye burning, but no more after looking towards the corpses of the 'man-spiders'. They were quickly decomposing.

_Acid…and some of it must've gotten on that sword._

The boy was now approaching the demon with sadistic smile on his face. Suddenly, it was so obvious to the soldier that even a blind man could have seen it.

The boy was just toying with him.

The demon noticed the blond walking towards him and growled before spitting more gobs of acid at him. The boy _moved _in zigzags, dodging the green goop as he drew closer towards the brown tarantula. The demon began to panic.

"GET AWAY!" he yelled as he began spitting acid at a more rapid rate.

Kakashi watched amazed at the blurring speeds that the boy was moving. It was as if he were a ghost, noticing how the acid seemed to phase through him as he moved. Just then, the boy was in front of the demon. The demon's eyes widened as he noticed the grin on the boy's face. Suddenly, the boy grabbed the sword that was embedded into where one of his eyes was and ripped it out. The tarantula let out a piercing roar. In retribution, he brought one of his front legs around and swung—

--Only to miss the blond completely as he jumped into the air.

The boy had the sword raised as he came down. The demon raised a front leg towards him as if trying to reach for him and then suddenly…

Kakashi blinked.

The commando had missed the initial cut. Whatever happened, the demon seemed to be frozen in his last stance as the boy landed on top of his head with the sword shouldered.

"You're…You're him…aren't you?"

The demon's voice was softer than what it had been initially.

"You're…the king…of…"

He never got to finish that sentence. The boy jumped off of him as he suddenly split into two. Kakashi stared at the boy in disbelief. He had taken care of a powerful demon so easily, a feat in which he himself was unable to do. Not only that, he didn't have a single scratch on him. Neither were his clothes were tattered when he had been impaled by those man-spiders. There wasn't even a drop of the demons' blood on him. The look on his face told the commando that he had enjoyed every minute of it.

Kakashi then went to tend to the pink-haired girl. Like the boy, she didn't have a mark or any blood on her. It relieved him greatly to know that she was unharmed. Suddenly, he sensed the boy approaching him. He whirled around with a hand on his eye patch. The boy stopped his approach and smirked at the devil hunter.

"So you can fight?" the boy said suddenly.

Kakashi stared blankly at the blond.

"Now you talk?"

The boy chuckled at his response before slowly glancing upward. The soldier was perplexed by the action, but then began to hear numerous shrills above him. With dread, Kakashi looked upward and stared in shock.

There were hundreds, if not thousands of man-spiders on the ceiling staring hungrily at them. It looked like they were in for another fight.

* * *

"Right this way sir," Zabuza turned to the figure behind him.

Ever since all hell broke loose back in the demon king's chamber, getting out had been a priority order from his client. He glanced at him as the man smirked. He could not believe how smoothly things were going. Not only had he gotten rid of the devil hunter, but the demon king had awoken as well. Now it was time that he contacted an old associate of his.

* * *

_Am I…dead?_

The pink haired girl had found herself in some black abyss. She couldn't even see her hand in front of her. The last thing that she remembered was the freakishly large…brown tarantula with the Siberian tiger head inching towards her before her world blackened. Suddenly, images of the events that occurred throughout the day had began playing in front of her as if she was watching a movie; showing from the dream she had, to the visions in the shower and all the way to the spider demons before…

"Sakura…"

The voice had startled her. It had called out to her from the blackness.

"Sakura…"

It might've made her uneasy before, but now she was beginning to recognize that voice. The only question was…

_Where is it coming from_?

"Sakura…Hey Sakura…"

The pink haired girl groaned as light began to pour into her eyes. Everything was blurry at first, but everything began to come into focus after blinking a little.

"Welcome back."

"Kakashi…?" she blinked again so that the said man focused. "Where are we?"

"Outside of the tower," was his response. Sakura sat up, rubbing her head. She must've hit the ground pretty hard.

"You kind of had me worried there," the commando said.

Sakura shot him an apologetic look before looking around taking in her sites of the forest that they were currently in. it wasn't long before something dawned on her.

"Where's Trent?"

"To tell you the truth, I don't know. The only one I saw moving around when I showed up was you, demons…"

Kakashi then looked away from her.

"…and him."

_Him? _Sakura stared at the devil hunter puzzled at first, but then followed his eyes to see what he was looking at.

Lying beneath a tree was the boy that she had encountered within the tower, sleeping peacefully. She was startled at first, but then stared curiously.

"It's strange," the commando suddenly said. "As soon as we got out of the tower, he went over to that tree and fell asleep." _I didn't think that he'd kill them all._

"He's the one who saved me isn't he?"

Kakashi stared at the girl, slightly surprised that she had figured that out.

"How'd you know?" he asked curiously.

"It was a feeling."

Sakura felt a headache coming on. She had apparently hit her head harder than she originally thought.

"A woman's intuition perhaps?" Kakashi commented, replying to her response.

"Maybe," Sakura continued watching the boy as he slept. "I just get this strange feeling whenever, I look at him."

"You aren't enamored with him are you?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes at the commando, who saw this and waved his hands in defense.

"It was just a joke."

The pink haired girl averted her eyes from him and towards the ground.

"Maybe you two are connected somehow."

Sakura gave the commando a questioning gaze. Kakashi shrugged.

"It's something my friend told me one time," he said. "Whether it is different times or places, people are connected to one another, one way or another. Me, I'd just shrug it off as déjà vu."

Sakura was tempted to roll her eyes at the last part. However, she did think about what he had said about people being connected.

"Where is your friend?" she asked suddenly.

"She's back at the base," he replied. "Why? Do you want to meet her?"

Sakura didn't answer, but instead found herself walking towards the sleeping boy. It wasn't long before she was standing over him and she crouched as she watched him sleep. She couldn't understand it. Trent had told her that this boy was the demon king. Based on what she had seen from their first encounter, she knew he wasn't lying. What had boggled her mind was that he had saved her. Why?

"_Your wish is my command."_

Her eyes suddenly widened. Had he really meant that? Was he truly fulfilling her wish? Suddenly, his eyes opened. The sudden movement had startled her as she fell onto her butt. That would be the second time she's done that today.

The boy, completely unfazed by her reaction, sat up and stretched. Sakura stared, taken back by his blank gaze. She stared into his crystal blue eyes and noted that the lines on his face were thinner. A mental image of the boy's first appearance flashed in her mind and she made a quick comparison. That boy was not the one sitting in front of her.

"Hi there," he said suddenly.

A corner of Sakura's lips twitched as he smiled at her.

_What the heck?!_

This was definitely not the boy she had met inside the tower.

"Are you okay?"

He seemed a little concerned now. Sakura gazed blankly into his eyes as she slowly nodded her head. The boy smiled.

"I'm glad."

At this, Sakura couldn't help but look away from him and blush. She wondered if he had actually realized that she had watched him. He hadn't said anything. She noticed a hand held out to her and looked to see the boy standing, still smiling down at her.

"My name is Naruto," he said. "Naruto Uzumaki."

Sakura stared up at the boy whom she now knew as Naruto. He had acted so differently before and she had felt darkness emanating from him. Now he seemed friendly and was speaking with compassion in his voice. She didn't know what was going on but whatever feelings that she had experienced earlier were gone now and she felt nothing but relief.

Relieved that it was now over.

Sakura let a small smile sneak onto her features as she took the boy's hand.

"Sakura," she said. "Sakura Haruno."

* * *

**To be honest, I was kinda worried** **with how this chapter was going to come out. Now that it's finished, I'm faced with a dilemma. I've got multiple storylines and I was little unsure with which one to begin next. Expect familiar characters to show up later in the story. Until next time!**


	6. Chapter 6

**It's been too long, I know. I've been busy**

* * *

**#6**

Kakashi smiled as he watched the scene unfold in front of him. He was glad to see Sakura getting along with him, though he was half expecting Sakura to keep her distance. It certainly seemed like a good thing that the king of demons or 'Naruto' he called himself was on their side. However, he was still going to report this to his boss. The decision pertaining to Naruto Uzumaki wasn't his after all.

Kakashi then looked towards the sky. The wind was beginning to pick up. Soon a rapid beating noise filled the air. The three looked to see a helicopter flying over them, steadily descending along the way.

"She got here quicker than I thought."

The pair gave Kakashi a questioning gaze. The commando smiled at them.

"Our ride's here," he said.

* * *

To say she was agitated would be quite an understatement. Anko Mitarashi was not having a good day. Today was supposed to be a vacation day; her day off. Despite her numerous attempts to relax however, there was always something going on that required "her" undivided attention. For example, to get a good start on her vacation day, she went to her favorite restaurant for breakfast when the most unlikely thing happened.

A fight broke out.

She had somehow gotten in between the two parties involved and gave them a quick thrashing when negotiating didn't work. However, she had done it at the expense of the restaurant. After a nasty chewing from the restaurant owner, she was basically told never to eat there again. It wasn't long before her superiors caught wind of the event and called her to their office for another nasty chewing. The damages to the restaurant were deducted from her pay and she ended up filling out piles of paperwork for that afternoon. When she had gotten home to try to enjoy the rest of the day, her 'friend' called her in the last minute for a favor and now here she was, flying a chopper over an island in the middle of the Atlantic that notoriously known to be crawling with demons by devil hunters everywhere.

As she drew closer towards the landing zone she began to notice numerous figures moving around the island. What she found more prominent about them was the fact every one of them was carrying some firearm, from assault rifles to handguns.

_They're probably mercenaries _she thought dismissively.

There were always these guys around, looking to make a quick buck to shoot something or someone. She wasn't exactly irritated or disgusted by this however. Devil hunters were the same way after all. It would've been hypocritical of her to think that.

Soon she spotted her contact, her friend approaching towards the landing zone. She noticed two other people with him. One of them was a young woman, probably no older than seventeen. Her unusual pink hair made her stick out like a sore thumb.

_Well that's unusual _Anko mused.

There was also a young man following behind her. He was in a sky blue jump suit and had wild blond hair. He didn't seem any older than the girl, but there was something else about him that she couldn't put her finger on.

She landed the chopper and watch as the trio stopped in front of it. Kakashi said something that seemed to surprise the pink-haired girl. She then nodded with understanding, not hiding the slight disappointment on her face. He then said something to the blond and he nodded as well. They were blissfully unaware that Anko was observing the both of them. The girl was a civilian no doubt and she had most likely stared death in the face countless times during her stay on the island. When she looked at the boy however, he seemed a little more mysterious. He didn't look like any civilian to her. The two teens got into the back of the helicopter and Kakashi sat in the seat next to her and gave her a look that seemed to say 'Thank-you and I'll make it up to you later'. Anko smirked at this.

_Alright Kakashi, I'll forgive you this time._

* * *

_And there they go._

Dr. Yakushi watched as the black helicopter flew further away from the island. It seemed that the devil hunter and that girl had made it out of the tower. However, Trent wasn't with them.

_I guess he didn't make it._

The snow-haired man had seen the young man that was with them and knew exactly who he was, but he also found it strange. He seemed too normal. He wasn't able to detect any of the demonic essence that always seemed to linger around the fabled demon king. However, he found it was too soon to make any final assessments. It seemed that he was going to have to test to see that power for himself.

Suddenly, he was brought from his thoughts when his cell phone began going off. He reached into his pocket and pulled it out and read the name that appeared on the LCD and then flipped it open.

"So you made out after all," he said with a smirk.

"Of course," the man on the other line replied. "So did they come out?"

"Yes, but that devil hunter was with them."

"I see."

The man didn't sound disappointed. In fact he sounded amused.

"It was expected. They did send one of their best after all."

"True."

"So, what did you think of the boy?" the man then asked.

Yakushi then seemed doubtful.

"I'm not sure," he said, voicing his doubt. "He seemed more human than we predicted."

"Do you wish to test him?"

"If you don't' mind…" Yakushi replied.

"Do as you like."

Dr. Yakushi smiled at the opportunity. However, something else crossed his mind.

"What do you plan on doing now?" he asked curiously.

"I'm going to lay low for a while as I finish the preparations," was the reply. "Them sending Kakashi after my life was rather unexpected."

Yakushi silently agreed. Everyone who had studied demonology and the black arts knew of the devil hunter Hatake Kakashi and his skills. If he was after the man's life, then it would've been wise to disappear at least until everything was finished.

"I leave everything in your hands now Dr. Yakushi," the man said.

_Click._

The snow-haired man pocketed the phone as he peered out towards the sunset. A wicked grin appeared on his face.

_It looks like you're all mine, King of Devils._

* * *

_Finally, civilization_ was Sakura's first thought as the helicopter drew closer towards the metropolitan peninsula. It had only been forty-five minutes since they had left the island, but to her it seemed like hours. Finally, she could find something to eat, take a shower, and finally go to bed.

_But that will have to wait until after the debriefing _she thought dejectedly. _And that could take hours!_

Earlier before boarding the chopper, Kakashi had let her know forehand

The pink haired schoolgirl groaned at the thought as she hung her head, drawing the attention of her new blond friend.

"Is there something wrong, Sakura?" he asked.

Sakura didn't look at him.

"It's nothing," she said, waving him off.

Naruto continued to stare at her before returning to watching their descent onto the heliport. Sensing his gaze averted, Sakura looked at him from the corner of her eyes. They had a small discussion of things earlier, but after the conversation was over, the two had been silent for the rest of the trip. Sakura knew why their interaction with one another had suddenly halted.

She was still somewhat afraid of him.

Even though he seemed to be normal now, she couldn't help but wonder if he'd stay that way. Man, how much she wished she could go home.

* * *

"Back already?"

The blonde woman watched as a black helicopter landed from her office inside the base. She had heard that Mitarashi Anko had taken off to retrieve Kakashi from the devil's isle. She hadn't expected that she'd return so soon and without any trouble from what it looked like he had brought someone back. Just then, the door opened behind her and someone walked inside.

"Ma'am, Kakashi has returned."

"Yes, thank you Shizune," the woman replied.

"He has brought two people with him. One of them is a civilian for sure."

The woman turned around.

"And the other?" she asked with an eyebrow raised.

"The other is appears to be a young boy around the same age as the girl, but…"

"But what?"

"…We think it's him."

The woman narrowed her eyes.

* * *

Sakura was already depressed. However upon seeing that she was at a military airforce base, she groaned.

_When will it end?_

It didn't help to think that they were most likely devil hunters. She had enough adventures with the military for one day. Now she just wanted to go somewhere where people weren't armed or wearing black uniforms.

Kakashi who noticed her state smiled at her.

"Don't look so down Sakura," he said. "Just a few more hours and you can go home."

At this, the pink haired girl hung her head after glaring daggers at the devil hunter.

_Oops._

"Excuse me, lieutenant?"

The soldier blinked at the sound of his name. He turned around to see a young girl from the maintenance crew. She held cell phone towards him.

"It's Miss Shizune," she said.

Kakashi stared at the phone for a moment. They've must've already discovered who he had brought along with him. He placed the phone over his ear.

"Hey Shizune, what's up?"

Meanwhile, Naruto looked around with mild curiosity.

"Hey Sakura."

The pink-haired girl perked up and stared at the blond blankly.

"Yeah, what?"

"What is this place?"

"Well…"

The schoolgirl trailed off as she looked ahead.

"…this is a military base."

"A military base?"

Sakura nodded. She was a little surprised at first, but now that she thought about it, Naruto had been sealed up for centuries, so it was safe to assume that he didn't know much about modern society. He would have trouble fitting in.

"So is that a helicopter?" he asked, looking towards the black chopper behind him.

Sakura looked at him surprised and nodded. That was unexpected.

"And when you said military base, did you mean that this was an air force base?"

"Yeah…"Sakura was astounded. "How did you know that?"

Naruto closed his eyes.

"Well, it's sort of hard to explain," he said. "You know about me right?"

The schoolgirl was perplexed at first, but then after remembering her first encounter with him, she nodded.

"Well, I guess you could say that I learned through the demonic power."

That confused her and she showed it with a questioningly gaze.

"While I was sealed up, I would get visions of the outside every now and then."

"Are you psychic?" Sakura asked curiously.

Naruto shook his head.

"No. Now that I'm out in the world, I can't do it anymore."

Sakura began to say something in response to that, but then Kakashi interjected.

"Sorry you two, but this is where we go our separate ways," he said. He then turned to where Anko was talking to another maintenance crew member.

"Hey Anko, could you take care of Naruto?"

"W-What?!"

"Thanks," Kakashi said smiling. "Sakura come with me."

"Hey, waitaminute! Kakashi!!"

Anko continued letting out a plethora of protests and curses as Kakashi and the pink-haired girl walked away. Sakura looked back towards Naruto, who merely smiled and waved at her. He didn't seem worried at all, but maybe he wasn't even aware of it. Sakura however, was wondering what were they going to do with her and what would become of her newly blond friend.

He was a demon after all.

**Not much action in this chapter. I didn't want to jump around too much, so I did foreshadowing instead. Until Next time.**


	7. Chapter 7

**# 7**

_R.O.O.T Military Prison Compound_

_8:49 pm_

Kotetsu Hagane sighed as he leaned back in his chair and propped his feet onto his desk. It was usually quiet around the compound, especially at this hour. The prisoners were unusually well-behaved for being former war criminals. Monitoring them through surveillance cameras was still unnerving though. That's why he was killing the dank atmosphere by watching a basketball game through the screen of a small television set that was installed.

_Can't wait to get home._

It wasn't that he was actually afraid of monitoring the criminals from where he was…alone. It was just that watching them tended to get a bit boring. And the poor reception on the TV wasn't helping.

"I'm back."

Kotetsu sat up in his chair and looked to see his friend and fellow security guards, Izumo Kamizuki approach him with bags.

"Took you long enough," he said with a smirk. "You've missed a few minutes of the game."

"So what's the score?" Izumo asked.

He set the bags down on the desk and pulled up a chair next to Kotetsu.

"We're down by one basket," Kotetsu answered. He reached into the bag and pulled out a sub sandwich. "It's gonna be a close game."

"We've had a good season so far," Izumo said.

Kotetsu frowned at him.

"You make it sound like we've already lost the game," he said.

"Well…" Izumo began chuckling nervously.

"It seems that you two have found something interesting to talk about."

Kotetsu and Izumo looked up at the newcomer who was approaching the security checkpoint. They relaxed upon seeing who it was.

"Oh, it's you," said a smiling Kotetsu.

"Good evening Dr. Yakushi," said Izumo.

"Good evening," Dr. Yakushi replied, frowning at Kotetsu. "What's going on anyway?"

"Ah, we're just talking about the game," Kotetsu answered. "Care to join us?"

Yakushi smirked.

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm afraid I'll pass."

This caused a devious smile to appear on the spiky haired man's face.

"Then, how about a prediction?"

"A prediction?" Dr. Yakushi sounded surprised.

Izumo sighed. He knew what Kotetsu meant by 'prediction'. Somehow, he felt that Doctor Yakushi did too.

"Yeah, who do you think will win tonight's game?" Kotetsu asked.

Yakushi smirked.

"Isn't it obvious? The other team, of course," he said coolly.

That didn't suit too well with Kotetsu.

"Oh yeah? We'll see about that!"

Izumo smiled as the scene unfolded in front of him. Yakushi strolled by them, unaffected by the verbal abuse that Kotetsu was dishing out. But then, something came to mind.

"Oh that's right! Doctor, how was your trip?" Izumo asked.

The ash-blond stopped as he looked back at Izumo emotionlessly.

"Trip?"

Izumo suddenly became nervous. The young man's demeanor seemed to have that effect on him.

"Uh, your secretary told me that you had gone on a trip with Trent Vincent."

Dr. Yakushi continued staring at the man for a while before looking away.

"Sorry, I don't know what you are talking about."

Without another word, Dr. Yakushi scanned his card and disappeared behind the blast doors. Izumo stared puzzled.

That was strange, he mused.

"Hey, you're missin' the game!" Kotetsu griped.

* * *

Yakushi could feel his irritation rise as he made his way down the hall towards his patient. The fact that his business trip with Trent Vincent was supposed to be top secret and that it was his secretary that leaked the information, infuriated him. He would have to have her eliminated as soon as possible. He could deal with Izumo later. After turning the corner once more he came across another blast door. This one though is different. A retinal scanner sits on the right of the door. Obviously, no one can get through it with a mere identification card. Luckily for Yakushi, he is registered with the system. He placed his head into the scanner and the door parts and opens. He wasted no time navigating the corridor and towards his destination. Just down the hall was a guard, monitoring one of the prisoners, his patient.

"Hey there, Dr. Yakushi," he greeted, once the doctor entered his line of vision.

"Good evening," Yakushi replied nonchalantly. "How's he been?"

"He's been quiet as usual, not that I'm complaining. He hasn't been moving around much, but just been sitting there, brooding over something."

Yakushi looked into the cell to see a man wearing a black jumpsuit, sitting on his bed with his head hung. For the most dangerous of criminals, they were imprisoned inside a room with three layers of blast proof glass like a display in the zoo. This was his patient's cell, but the man inside didn't look at all like his patient. His arms and feet were wrapped in bandages. Parts of his head were covered in bandages as well. Only his eyes and patches of his dark hair were exposed. Yakushi looked towards the guard questioningly.

"What happen to him?"

The guard shrugged.

"To him, I dunno," he said. "All I know is that one of the new arrivals tried picking a fight with him. We still haven't found the body."

"I see."

Yakushi seemed passive, sounding somewhat sympathetic about the passing of one of the inmates. However, he smirked inwardly. The poor fool had tampered with someone who he couldn't understand. Chances were, the new arrival couldn't even put up a fight.

"Could you let me in please?"

The guard stared incredulously at the man at first, but then shook his head.

"I don't see how you do it doc," the guard said, approaching the keypad. "Hey Seymour, look who's here."

At the sound of his name, the inmate looked up to see the snow-haired man with his oddly reptilian eyes as he entered the cell.

"Hello Seymour."

"Kabuto? I don't remember us scheduling a session today," he hissed.

"We don't," Kabuto answered. "I only came here to tell you something interesting."

"Something…interesting? Interesting to whom?"

"He's awakened."

The inmate stared at Kabuto with eyes wide. Kabuto wasn't able to tell what his patient was thinking. The look in his eyes weren't helping either.

"I see," Seymour said, staring towards the ground. "Perhaps I should meet him."

* * *

Izumo had watched as Dr. Yakushi entered the hallway containing the most dangerous criminals within the prison through the surveillance monitor and was now watching him converse with his patient. The man had acted strangely this evening. Before this thought could continue however, Kotetsu's voice drags him back into reality.

"Dude, what is with you?" the spiky haired man said, grabbing another sub. "You've missed the last few minutes of the first quarter."

At this Izumo smiled apologetically.

"Eh, sorry," he said. "But don't you think that Dr. Yakushi was acting strangely tonight?"

Kotetsu snorted.

"Meh, that guy's always acting strange," he says bluntly. "You might as well get used to it."

Izumo frowned at his friend's dismissive behavior.

"But still…"

He didn't get to finish that thought. Someone came through the main entrance. The two security guards looked up to see a blonde haired woman in a white lab coat.

"Evening boys," she said to them.

Izumo spoke first.

"Good Evening, Dr. Sabaku," he said, relaxing.

"Hey Temari," Kotetsu greeted with a smirk.

Dr. Temari Sabaku was a well-established psychotherapist and as well the youngest in the field. She was also one of the psychological counselors around the prison.

"You're here for Gaara right?"

"Of course," the blonde replied. "Not that it's any of your business."

Kotetsu snorted.

"Well excuse me," he said. "Jeez, first Yakushi, now you; I guess this is what I get for trying to be nice."

Temari raised an eyebrow at this.

"Kabuto's here?" she asked with confusion evident in her voice.

"Yeah," Izumo answered.

Temari furrowed her brows.

"That's odd."

"You think so too?" asked Izumo.

"Well yeah," the blonde woman replied. "Kabuto doesn't have a session today."

"I don't see what so strange about it," said Kotetsu. "I mean, couldn't he have changed the days when he would have his sessions?"

"Without letting us know about it…?" Izumo replied. "Not likely."

"I'll find out what's going on," Temari suddenly said.

Izumo stared at her for a moment before standing up.

"I'll go with you," he said.

"That won't be necessary," Temari replied, surprising the security guards. "I'll talk to him so that we don't tip him off that we're on to him."

The two watchmen stared at the blonde as she made her way towards the blast doors. Suddenly, Kotetsu began chuckling, earning a curious look from his partner.

"You make it sound like he's planning a conspiracy or something," he said.

Temari gave him a lighthearted smile before turning towards the door, making her smile fade in the process.

_Maybe he is_ she thought.

* * *

By the time Kabuto finished his story, Seymour had begun chuckling.

"Very interesting," he said. "I have missed much during my months of solitude."

"Indeed," Kabuto answered. "However…"

The inmate stared at him coolly.

"I saw the young man today. He didn't seem exactly as I had heard."

"So you wish to see with your own eyes, hmm?" Seymour chuckled. "Very well, I'll give you a peek at his power."

Kabuto smiled.

"I am glad that you understand," he said. "Well it is time that I get going; people to see, places to go. Good night Seymour."

Seymour narrowed his eyes at the snow-haired doctor as he turned to leave.

"Doctor…I hate that name…" he hissed.

Kabuto halted and turned around, staring at the inmate surprised.

"That is rather interesting considering that you had picked that name in the first place," he said. "I guess I should call you by your real name then."

And with that, Kabuto exited the cell. As he made to leave, the guard chuckled.

"Weird guy, huh?" he said, closing the door.

"Perhaps," Kabuto answered. "…Goodbye."

The guard cocked an eyebrow as Kabuto turned to leave. He then shrugged and turned to give the inmate one last look—

--only to standing directly in front of him from behind the glass barricade.

"Holy Shit" was what he wanted to say, but the words didn't quite make it out of his mouth. When had the prisoner move towards him? More importantly…

Why can't I move?!

The guard stared in fear as the inmate stared into his eyes.

"Open the door…" he hissed.

Suddenly, the guard's hand began moving on its own towards the keypad. No matter how much the guard tried to resist, his hand would not obey him. One by one, his index finger punched in the numbers that soon opened the cell. He watched in horror as the criminal stepped out of the cell. He could see the outline of a smile form on the inmate's face behind his bandages. Suddenly, the guard began feeling something wrap around his arm. He moved his eyes downwards to see what it was.

A snake?!

He began sweating bullets as the snake raised its head to his head level. He could hear Seymour chuckling at this.

"Not to worry," he said. "I still have a use for you."

Before the guard could realize what was happening, the snake struck.

* * *

Temari had begun to feel uneasy as she navigated down through the corridor. She already didn't like Dr. Yakushi and after hearing Izumo's story, now she had a definite reason not to.

The man was too shady.

Kabuto always had a hidden agenda and would use others, sometimes indirectly, to achieve his goals. After his strange behavior from earlier, she would find out what he was up to.

Speaking of which…

She spotted him calmly walking down the hallway with his hands in his pockets. When he noticed her, he seemed somewhat surprised.

"Good evening, Dr. Sabaku," he greeted, a smile forming on his face.

Temari wanted to puke.

"Good evening, Dr. Yakushi," she replied smirking. She hid her disgust. "I wasn't aware that you had a session this evening."

"I don't," Kabuto replied, which surprised Temari.

She wasn't exactly expecting him to admit it. However, she wasn't about to let her guard down.

"So what brought you here of all places?" she inquired.

"I only came here to tell my patient some important news that's all."

The blonde wore a questioning look.

"News?"

"A friend of his woke up from a coma today," the snow-haired man answered. "He was rather happy to hear the news."

"…I see. That's good to hear I suppose."

It sounded plausible, but that didn't make the uneasiness go away.

"Aren't you running late for your brother's appointment?"

Temari stared wide-eyed at Kabuto. She couldn't believe that she had almost forgotten why she had even showed her face there in the first place.

"Yes, now if you'll excuse me…"

The blonde pushed her way around Kabuto. She was already angry with him for knowing the relationship between her and her patient. Not that he was trying to expose that or anything, but the fake smile on his face pretty much gave away that he was up to something. What scared her most was that she couldn't figure out what. However, she was certain about one thing. If they tried anything, she wouldn't let anything happened to her brother, not ever.

If only she knew about the horrors that were to come that evening.

* * *

**To be honest, I was a bit surprised that this whole part lasted the whole chapter, not that I'm complaining. Still more to come. **


	8. Chapter 8

**I bet a lot of you were wondering, "what's taking him so long to update?". Well, while I was away at the university, I seemed to have lost interest in writing. However, that didn't mean that I wanted to abandoned the things that I started. The moment I got home, I rarely watch anime anymore, but I still read Manga like crazy. And all I could do was write. But then some problems kicked in like my computer was seriously pwned so I would have stalk across town to use another computer, but even then I didn't have enough time. For a while, I was back to using regular old pen and paper. But now the latest chapter is finished and right on time for the holidays too. Enjoy this latest installment.

* * *

**

**# 8**

Sakura let out yawn for the third time that evening.

She wasn't sure how long it had been since Kakashi had left sitting in the waiting room, but she was certain that it was at least more than an hour. She was tired, irritated, and she really wanted to go home.

…_Or at least a good night's rest._

Her first thought had been to stretch out on the couch that she was currently sitting on. It was comfortable enough. What stopped her was the fact that Kakashi could return to get her at any moment and she didn't want to try to go through with the 'debriefing' drowsy. She didn't even know what they would do. However, that was nothing compared to the next thought that came to mind.

_What are they going to do to Naruto?_

It had been eating at her ever since the two parted ways. For all she knew, this place was filled with devil hunters and he was the devil king. From the way she saw it, devil hunters and devil kings didn't mix. Sure, he had scared her when they had first met, but he proved rather easy to get along with. She could easily say that she was worried about him.

_Will I see him again? _She wondered.

* * *

"So, it's true then," the blonde woman behind the desk said.

"Yes ma'am," Kakashi answered. "But even so, it doesn't change the fact that he still saved our lives."

"I understand how you feel," said the blonde. "But, I've already given the order."

"What about Sakura Haruno?" Kakashi suddenly asked. "He saved her as well. I'm sure she'll feel the same way about this."

"I'm sure as well, but you know as well as anyone else here that we must be careful. We have the most powerful demon in existence in our custody."

"I…I understand, ma'am," Kakashi sighed.

The woman closed her eyes. While she could sympathize with the young devil hunter in front of her, she couldn't let her personal feelings intervene with the ideals that benefit the country. It was already hard enough to mask the existence of demons already, but she knew that it was only a matter of time before they revealed themselves to the public. Now that the king of demons was in their custody, she had to come up with a contingency plan for in case he decided to exterminate them all.

"Kakashi, I want you to send the girl in," she said suddenly.

"Yes ma'am," Kakashi replied instantly, then turned towards the door and exited her office.

It was merely a few seconds before an oddly pink-haired girl entered the room. The woman cocked an eyebrow at the young girl gawking at her.

"You must be Sakura Haruno. I am—"

"M-Madam President?!" the girl stammered.

The blonde gave her a smirk.

"I was going to say Tsunade Senju, but I suppose that works as well," she said.

Tsunade watched as the pink haired girl enter an attentive stance.

"I-It is an honor to finally meet you."

While she did find this amusing, Tsunade felt that this had to stop.

"Sakura," she said firmly. "Take a deep breath and relax."

Immediately the girl complied and smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry…" she said.

Tsunade returned the smile. As soon as it had appeared her face, it turned sympathetic.

"You've been through quite a bit, haven't you?"

"…Yeah," was the girl's small response.

"I have already gotten most of the story from Kakashi, but I would like to hear your end," Tsunade said. "Why did Trent have you accompany him to Madara Island?"

Sakura looked downward towards the corner of the room as if thinking. Jeez, she had been so stressed that she had nearly forgotten why she was there in the first place.

"He told me that I was a descendant of a priestess from the time that tower was built."

Tsunade's eyes widened slightly.

"So it is true," she said. "You're the descendant of Haruka Sakuya, the priestess that Trent mentioned."

"So she's the one who helped the young hero seal away the demon king."

Tsunade nodded.

"Yes, she's also the one who sealed up the young hero."

Sakura blinked. She was not aware of this.

"Why did she seal him away?"

Tsunade clasped her hands together.

"Well, the power of the demon king had been contained so there were many individuals who sought to control this power for themselves…"

The expression on her face turned grim.

"…Sorcerers…" she said darkly.

"…Sorcerers?"

"Since the king's power had been sealed, they plotted means of capturing him and extracting his powers for their own. So, he and Haruka formulated the plan to seal him away."

"But he's free now," said Sakura. "Does that put him at risk?"

"Not necessarily," Tsunade replied, sitting back. "None of the sorcerers have ever found a way to extract his powers. Not only that, none of them could ever go head-to-head with the king of demons and live."

"So there's no real danger, right? The pink-haired girl asked.

"Wrong."

Sakura flinched. She was unprepared for that response.

"There's the king himself."

"What about the king?" the pink haired girl asked.

"He has been influenced by Kyuubi's demonic power."

"That's true…"

"We have taken measures to detain him," Tsunade said.

"…No way."

"You disagree?"

"Of course I disagree!" Sakura almost yelled. "You're talking about imprisoning a person for no reason!"

"Did he not confine himself on Madara Island?" Tsunade replied.

"Yeah, but…"

"He sealed himself away in a temple that was full of spells to keep him in and trespassers out," Tsunade said. "I'm certain that he will agree with my decision."

Sakura looked towards the floor dejected. Naruto probably would agree with the president's choice. There was no point in continuing arguing.

"But still…"

It didn't feel right.

Tsunade gave the girl a sympathetic look.

"You must be tired," she said. "I've made a few arrangements for you as well."

"…Yeah…" Sakura replied.

* * *

"Dr. Sabaku…?"

Temari raised a brow. The guard seemed surprised to see her.

"What is it?"

The guard stared at her for a moment before shaking his head and smiling at her.

"It's nothing. I just forgot that you were coming this evening."

"Okay," Temari said, crossing her arms. "So, is my patient well?"

"Yes ma'am," the guard replied. "I've been making sure that he's eating right too. He's been behaving himself."

"I see."

Temari turned towards the prison cell. Unlike the others inside this wing, there was a thick blast door in place of the thick glass that was on the other prison cells. The guard then turned towards the young woman and smiled sheepishly.

"He's still not too fond of me. You go on ahead and I'll stay out here."

Temari smirked at the guard. Her patient had fear over the guards of this facility. This one was no different. In fact, he had fear written all over his face despite the smile. After all, she was the only one to ever enter her patient's cell and walk out alive.

"Just let me know when you're finished alright?" the guard said.

"Thank-you, that'll be all," Temari said curtly.

The guard watched as the young woman disappeared behind the blast doors. Her patient was notorious for killing anyone who dared entered his cell and yet somehow, only she was able to come and go as she pleased.

"That woman is remarkable…"

The watchmen's eyes widened. He turned to see the silhouette of his unexpected guest. As far as he knew, he was supposed to be the only one here.

"...Wouldn't you agree?"

"Identify your—"

The guard was interrupted by the stranger's hand suddenly appearing over his mouth. He hadn't known anyone who could move so fast.

"Oh, there's no need for introductions."

The guard watched in horror as the snakes slithered from the man's sleeves and onto his arms.

The snakes rising to strike would be the last thing he'd see.

* * *

Temari approached the current occupant of the cell, her patient. He didn't seem to notice her for he sat on his cot staring downwards toward the floor. It saddened her that he had to be confined by harsh security measures, but for the safety of the personnel who worked here, it was necessary.

After all, he was her brother.

"How are you feeling…Gaara?"

The red haired inmate looked up towards his apparent visitor.

"I've been alright, sister."

Temari frowned. He didn't seem exactly as he said. There were dark rings present around Gaara's eyes. Evidently, he hasn't been sleeping. She didn't need to ask why.

"I've missed you, sister," he said, letting a small smile creep onto his features.

Temari smiled back sadly.

"I've missed you too, Gaara."

Ever since their parents died when they were younger, Gaara had developed some kind of sister complex. They had no other relatives so she had to mother her two younger siblings. However, things kept downhill from there.

One night, they were attacked by an unnatural creature.

The creature, which she now knew was a demon, had killed one of her brothers and disappeared. That night had forever changed her youngest brother. That night, Gaara had gained powers that would separate him from humans. He had gained the ability to control sand.

However, the price of these newly obtained powers was steep.

His mind had been left unstable, thus he no longer had a stable mind to properly control his new powers. It wasn't long before his powers had begun to make people disappear. At some point, he realized what he was doing and checked himself into this prison.

_And that's why I have to care for him_ Temari thought.

* * *

"C'mon guys don't fail me now," Kotetsu said, towards the television.

All Izumo could do was smile and shake his head. He was pretty clear that his friend was very much into the game. Izumo himself wasn't exactly a sports fan, but he did watch some games.

_Time to check on the house guests _he thought, taking another bite out his sandwich.

He turned towards the monitors.

"Huh?"

Two of the monitors had gone completely static.

"What the hell--?"

Izumo flipped the switches to the cameras back and forth, but nothing changed.

It wasn't long before Kotetsu noticed and stood behind him, staring quizzically at the monitors.

"Hey, what's going on?" he asked.

"I don't know," Izumo replied. "Call Kosuke and Mizuki to see if they're alright."

Kotetsu nodded and went for his radio.

Izumo wasn't too concern about the malfunctioning cameras, but rather where the cameras were malfunctioning. Those were the areas where the two most dangerous prisoners were being held.

"Kosuke, respond man!"

Izumo turned towards his partner. Judging by the look on his face, neither Kosuke nor Mizuki had answered him.

"I'm going back there," Kotetsu said, attaching his radio around his belt. "If I don't come back or if you don't hear from me in ten minutes then put everybody on alert."

"Right."

Izumo watched as Kotetsu made his way towards the blast door. He went through the normal procedure. He stood there watching as the doors open—

--when he was suddenly floored by a dark blur.

Izumo ran out of the checkpoint station to see his friend struggling with some _thing._ He didn't take time to figure out what it was, but drew his firearm and fired six shots into its skull before it stopped moving. Kotetsu pushed the thing off of him and joined his friend to figure out what it was that attacked him.

"What the hell is that?" Kotetsu asked, somewhat shaken up.

"I…I don't know," Izumo answered, shaking his head.

It was clearly larger than any man. It was very muscular and had dark brown skin. Horns jutted from its forehead. What made the thing mostly odd was the guard uniform that it was wearing. Whatever it was, it was once human.

"That can't be the only thing roaming around," said Kotetsu. "I'll go call for back up."

Izumo nodded, but didn't look up from the creature. What was this thing and why was it wearing the same uniform as him?

Izumo knelt down and pushed the creature onto its back. His eyes widened when he viewed the name tag on its chest.

It was Kosuke.

* * *

"How have you been Gaara?" Temari asked as she sat down on the bed next to him.

"I've been alright," the redhead answered. "I've hadn't heard that voice for a while now."

Temari smiled a bit more. No voice meant that the blood thirst had been diminishing as well. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to convince the colonel to let him back into society. Hell, even she wasn't so convinced.

"I've been drawing like you've told me to," Gaara said happily. "You wanna see?"

"Sure."

She watched as he pulled a sketchpad from beneath his thin mattress. She couldn't help but to think that he was just like a child. All the trauma and tragedy in their lives attributed to that. Just as Gaara turned to hand Temari the book, an announcement came up over the loud speaker.

"Attention all personnel, the facility is now under code blue," it said. "I repeat the facility is now under code blue. This is not a drill."

"Code blue?" Temari murmured.

Gaara looked worriedly at Temari.

"Sister, what does that mean?"

"It means that everything is going according to plan."

The two siblings turned into the direction the voice had came from. Temari spotted a figure hiding in the shadows of the room.

"Who are you?"

Temari's eyes narrowed as she and her younger brother watched the figure step into the dim lighting that illuminated the cell. He chuckled.

"Good evening…Doctor."

* * *

**Happy Holidays!**


	9. Chapter 9

**# 9**

"We meet at last, doctor," the man said to her.

Temari glared at the stranger.

"You're an inmate aren't you," she said.

"An inmate? No, I'm in the middle of leaving this place."

Temari scoffed at this. She had heard other inmates say things resembling what he had said. However, this man gave her the feeling that he wasn't like the other convicts.

"Who are you?"

The man chuckled.

"Call me Seymour," he said.

"Kabuto's patient?" she narrowed her eyes. "What do you want, Seymour?"

"…Gaara…"

* * *

Ibiki Morino stood as the men assembled before him. The night seemed peaceful until surveillance issued the code blue. Now these men were waiting to be briefed of the situation. They were the heavily armed enforcers of the prison, a small fraction of the ANBU troops from the military. Unlike riot control, these men shot to kill.

"Alright, listen up," Ibiki addressed them. "Earlier surveillance reported being attacked by a bizarre creature that came out of the prison. They soon discovered that the compound was crawling with these monsters. As you probably already figured, there had been casualties."

Soon, cards began being distributed among the commandos.

"The cause is this man," Ibiki said, holding up his own card with a man's face on it. "Prisoner B187, Seymour Hajiki."

Once he noticed the men looked down at the cards, he continued.

"Not too long after Seymour made his escape, monsters began to appear all around the prison. Currently, he has held himself up in section eight, inside prisoner U372's cell."

"Sir, isn't that the rumored cell that no one comes out of?" one of the soldiers asked. "Wouldn't prisoner U372 just…"

"We did take that into account," Ibiki answered. "However, it seems that Dr. Sabaku is in the cell as well so she is Seymour's potential hostage. Are there any other questions?"

The room remained silent.

"Very well then, let's begin."

* * *

Temari stared at the man in disbelief.

"Gaara…?"

What could he possibly want with him?

"That's right," Seymour answered. "I want your brother."

Temari's eyes widened.

"How did you..?"

The inmate chuckled.

"Ten years ago, three children were attacked by--what they described as--a monster. One of the children died, protecting his two siblings. Eight years ago, a serious of grisly murders began to surround the younger of the two surviving children. He turned himself in only recently. I wonder what happened to the last child."

Temari clicked her tongue.

He knew.

"So what," she said. "I won't hand him over to you."

"Oh, I'm sure."

Just then, gunfire began to echo in the distance. Temari looked up in horror.

"What's going on?"

"It's started," Seymour replied, glancing at the door. "It seems that we're going to be interrupted soon."

Temari narrowed her eyes at the man. His composure was astonishing. He seemed very certain that his escape plan would succeed.

_Not if I have anything to do about it_

"Sister…?"

Gaara grabbed a handful of her coat. Temari looked back at him to see the worried expression written all over his face and couldn't help but to smile warmly at him.

He truly did have the eyes of a child.

_I won't let him touch you Gaara._

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew furiously towards Seymour, giving him only enough time to raise his arms in defense. As quickly as the wind came, it died. Seymour lowered his arms, eyeing Temari with an amused look in his eye.

"Interesting," he muttered, noting the various cuts in his bandages and clothing. "Are you perhaps a sorcerer…?"

He tilted his head sideways as he narrowed his eye—

--a thick black rod slammed into the wall, narrowly missing his head.

"…or a devil hunter?"

In a blur of the moment, Temari had the rod pressed long ways against the inmate's chest, effectively pinning him to the wall. Seymour sighed.

"Doctor, isn't this called 'leading a double life?"

Temari pressed him harder into the wall.

"I'm sure no one would mind if you died," she said darkly.

However, Seymour's expression didn't change.

"I am sure of that as well," he said calmly. "But what about him?"

He was looking over her. Temari followed his gaze onto a terrified Gaara.

"Devil hunter…Sorcerers…Wha…what's going on?"

Temari watched in horror as her brother placed his hands on the sides of his head. He was becoming unstable.

"Hmm, it seems that you've confused him," Seymour said nonchalantly.

Temari ignored him.

"Gaara…?" she tried. However he wasn't listening.

"What's going on?" he asked, sounding a little more hysterical.

Temari reached out towards his trembling form.

"It sounds as though you haven't been completely honest with your brother," Seymour chimed in.

At this, Temari whirled around and pressed the rod against Seymour's throat.

"This is your fault," she growled.

Seymour stared at her amused. Judging from the look in her eyes, she only needed one more push before she snapped. Gaara on the other hand was already losing it.

A sickening crack echoed throughout the cell. Temari's eyes widened.

Seymour went limp. She had killed him.

Temari stepped back as she watched Seymour's body slip onto the floor. It wasn't the first time she killed someone. As a devil hunter, sometimes she would have to deal with people who gave their bodies to demons. She killed them without remorse, but in the end they were still people.

Temari began to turn to face Gaara.

"You're more impulsive than I thought."

Before she could react, she was suddenly grabbed into a chokehold from behind by her own weapon. Her eyes widened.

_Impossible!_

She had just killed him. She looked down to confirm his body—

--only to watch it disperse into numerous snakes that then slithered off towards the shadows of the room.

"You're…a sorcerer aren't you?"

Seymour laughed as if to answer her question.

"I now the secret behind Gaara," he hissed.

He turned her around to face her brother. She closed her.

"Gaara is…"

"Don't say it!" Temari pleaded.

"…a demon."

"Sister…"

Temari opened her eyes to see that Gaara's eyes had darkened.

"Have you betrayed me?" he asked in a low voice.

"Yes Gaara, she has," Seymour answered.

Temari looked at him in disbelief.

"What!? No!"

Seymour continued.

"She had planned to kill you since the beginning."

"No Gaara, it's not true!"

"She's a devil hunter!"

"Don't listen to him!"

"Trained to hunt and kill monsters like you."

"No, Gaara! I did it so that I could protect you!"

Seymour tightened his hold on her.

"How much longer to you insist on lying to him?" Seymour asked her.

"For as long as it takes," Temari answered defiantly. "I'll do anything to protect him."

"…Even become a demon?"

Temari eyed him skeptically. What was he talking about?

Before she could respond, a low chuckling began to fill the room. The pair then focused their attention on Gaara.

"I'm…all alone now…" Gaara said, smiling bitterly.

"Gaara…I—"

"SHUT UP!"

Temari gasped, taken back by Gaara's outburst.

"I can't trust you," Gaara said. "I can't trust anyone."

Those words hit Temari hard that tears threatened to fall. She had felt that Gaara was getting closer back to his old self. Now this man was about to ruin all of that.

"Gaara, the world has taken everything from you," Seymour said. "Let us take our revenge on the world."

Gaara's eyes closed at this. Temari's eyes widened as a wall of sand began to revolve around them.

"No Gaara, don't!" she yelled.

But her cries fell on deaf ears. Gaara opened his eyes to reveal that they had turned golden with black sclera surrounding them. A low growl filled the room.

"It seems that we have an agreement," Seymour said nonchalantly as he reached for his face. "We'll be leaving soon."

He tore the bandages from his face and grinned.

"A parting gift…for your resilience."

Temari's eyes widened in terror as she watched his canines grow in to long sharp fangs. Without warning he plunged them into her neck.

Temari let out an inaudible scream.

* * *

Ibiki looked around as he approached the table where a large shortwave radio sat. The room had previously been the main lobby and was now made into a mission control room. Currently the ANBU that had been dispatched into the prison were saving a many of the other inmates that they could. There had been few reports of monster attacks, but they were quickly resolved. Now they were waiting for the teams to make it to their positions around U372's cell.

"Mission Control…"

_That was fast_ Ibiki mused as he picked up the receiver. "This is mission control."

"Red team here," the ANBU reported through the radio. "We've arrived at the targeted site. We're now planting charges."

A moment went by then…

"This is red team. Charges are in place."

"Copy that red team," Ibiki answered. "Please stand by."

As soon as he said that, other reports filed in one after the other.

"This is yellow team. We are in position."

"Silver team here, ready and waiting."

Good. All the designated teams were now outside of the cell, ready to breach it at any time. However, it made everything very tense. The cell of prisoner U372 was notorious for sending numerous personnel to their horrible end. Casualties were expected and they were ready for it. Ibiki took a deep breath.

"Breach on my signal."

Everything grew still.

"Three…two…one…GO!"

An explosion sound off from somewhere within the prison. To everyone in mission control, the air had become deadly silent. A minute went by.

One minute turned into five.

Five minutes turned into ten.

"Yellow team, what's your status?" Ibiki finally asked.

He was met with silence.

"Team yellow, please respond."

Silence.

"Silver team, what's happening in there?"

silence.

"Somebody talk to me."

No one did. The personnel around him looked at one another, nervousness apparent on their faces. What happened to the teams that were sent in? Little did they know, their question was about to be answered.

A low rumbling filled the room.

Ibiki looked around the room with his eyes creased in confusion. Before long, the rumbling intensified to a degree equivalent to an earthquake, violently shaking the equipment within the room. Ibiki furrowed his brows.

"Wha—"

All the doors leading into the prison suddenly exploded.

A vicious sandstorm filled into the room as a tidal wave, sweeping everything into its fury. Then as sudden as it came, it blasted through the main entrance, dropping everything that it had picked up and flew into the air, disappearing into the clear night sky.

Everything was still in the ruin that was the lobby/mission control room. Debris mingled with bodies lied scattered all throughout the area.

"Mission control…"

The voice was faint and full of static.

"Come in mission control."

There was no way that he could know that mission control had been wiped out.

"Mission control, do you copy?"

However, he got a reaction.

Ibiki pushed off a large table as he lifted himself from the cold floor. His eyes widened in both horror and amazement as he surveyed the damage of his surroundings. He had only a few cuts and bruises, relatively uninjured. He wished that he could say the same about some of the other people he saw.

Not everyone was as lucky as him.

"Is there anyone out there?"

Ibiki dragged himself towards the source of the voice. As he drew closer, he began to notice other survivors rising from the midst of debris. He stopped at his destination…

…a battered shortwave radio lying on the floor.

It was in pretty bad shape, but he still prayed that it was functioning as he knelt down and picked up the receiver.

"This is Ibiki Morino from mission control. Can you hear me?"

His prayers were answered.

"Barely sir," the voice replied.

"Who am I talking to?"

"This is Sergeant Tenzo from yellow team sir."

"Are you the only one, sergeant?" Ibiki held his breath, dreading the answer.

"Negative," Tenzo replied. "There's another from yellow team and a couple of guys from team silver."

Ibiki sighed in relief. There were survivors.

But….

"What about Dr. Sabaku? Is she alive?"

There was a few moments of silence then…

"Affirmative. The doctor's here, but I don't see Gaara or Seymour."

"What about red team?"

"I didn't find anyone. It looks like they were wiped out when the charges went off." Tenzo replied ruefully.

Ibiki lowered his head.

"I see. What about you? Are you alright?"

"Yes sir. I only managed to dislocate my shoulder."

Ibiki let a smile form on his face.

"If that's all, then I want you and any others who are as able as you to begin searching for any other survivors and bring them to the lobby."

"Yes sir."

And then, the radio went dead. Ibiki stood up and looked around to see many surviving personnel searching through the debris for any other survivors as well. Paramedics were most likely on their way. After thinking back through the nights events, he grimaced.

"The vice president isn't going to like this."


	10. Chapter 10

**It's been awhile. With all the business going on here, I can't make it any plainer.**

**College is rough.**

**With these wicked research papers that I to write, I sorta had to turn off 'fic mode' and focus on doing those papers. One day suddenly changed all that. The research papers stopped and I was on a writing frenzy. When the time was available, I finished this chapter in one sitting. So after a long wait, I present to you this next installment.**

**

* * *

#10**

Tsunade sat down at the end of a long table and poured red wine into her glass.

It had been some time since her discussion with the Madara island victim. Currently, she was being shown to the quarters that had been prepared for her. An amused smile formed at Tsunade's lips as she lifted her full wine glass.

_Sakura Haruno hm? _

The girl was rather interesting aside from her unusual pink hair. Most civilians would've gone insane after going through what she had endured, but that Haruno girl still seemed aware of herself. Not only that, she indeed did resemble her great ancestor Haruka Sakuya. One thing really bothered her however.

Why did the king of devils decided to save her? Was it a whim? Or did he have something planned for her?

Tsunade narrowed her eyes at the glass, no longer interested in the beverage.

Sakura had mentioned that Naruto—she had called him—had shown her that he had a human side. Could that be the case?

"How annoying," Tsunade muttered to herself.

All this thinking was spoiling her drink.

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," she called.

As told, the visitor stepped in silently into the room and closed the door behind him. She recognized the man as Kakashi.

"You're becoming a frequent visitor," she said smiling.

The devil hunter shrugged.

"You can't get enough of my services," he replied.

"True, but I didn't call for you."

"You're right."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow at him.

"Then what are you--?"

"He's coming."

The president blinked, surprised that she was interrupted. She narrowed her eyes at him in realization.

"I see," she murmured. "No doubt that he's caught wind of our guests."

"So what do you plan to do? Just curious," he added when he earned a look from the president.

"Greet him of course," Tsunade replied sharply.

"I understand," the devil hunter answered.

Soon, Tsunade was alone again. She sighed as she stood up and approached one of the large windows in the room. It gave her a grand view of the city during its night hours and it seemed lively as ever. This view allowed her to think.

Her guest that would be arriving was in fact the vice president. It was so like him to show up unannounced. Somehow, he had perhaps gained information—most likely through _ROOT_—of the arrival of Sakura and the demon king and no doubt wanted to come meet them himself. Considering the type of man that he was, she certainly would not allow him to meet Sakura, but if he wanted to see the boy, then there wasn't much she could say against the matter. Such things were of a matter of national security.

Suddenly, the arrival of a black limousine drew her eyes downward.

"Danzou," she murmured. "What a troublesome man."

* * *

"Here we are."

Sakura followed the dark haired woman into the room. It wasn't as luxurious as she had initially thought. Instead, the room was similar to a modest hotel room with only one bed. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. She expected better, but beggars can't be choosers.

"It doesn't seem like much, but I promise it's very comfortable."

Sakura knew the dark haired woman simply as Shizune. She was dressed professionally, being in a dark blue suit jacket and skirt and a light blue blouse. She was no doubt the president's secretary.

"If you say so," Sakura said, looking around the room more.

"This is only for tonight. Tomorrow, we'll be sending you home."

Sakura turned to her and nodded.

"If you have any questions, just let me know, 'kay?"

"Actually, I do have a question…"

Shizune eyed the girl curiously as Sakura suddenly seemed depressed.

"It's about, Naruto," she murmured. "Is he alright?"

The question had apparently caught the young woman off guard for she stared at her mildly surprised.

"I'm sure he's fine," Shizune said. "You may get a chance to see him again."

Despite how depressed she felt or how worried she was, Sakura smiled at the secretary. She knew that Shizune was merely trying to cheer her up. The woman's answer had come almost too quickly. She must've said it without thinking.

"Thank you Miss Shizune," was all that she could say. After that, the woman took her leave.

Now that Sakura was alone, her depression came back. Even though Shizune assured her that Naruto would be alright, which was likely true, she couldn't help but to worry about him. He was her friend.

Or so he had seemed.

Her conversation with the president still lingered within the corners of her mind. The demon king's spirit had dominated most of his mind so one couldn't be too careful when dealing with him. Maybe it would be better to forget about him altogether. She was going home tomorrow. Chances were she wouldn't see him ever again.

So why did she feel so uneasy?

* * *

Danzou entered the tower with his secretary following him.

_So this is Tsunade's KONOHA. _He thought.

He'd read numerous reports about the organizations work in dealing with the supernatural. The organization consisted solely of freelance devil hunters unlike his ROOT organization.

"Welcome to KONOHA headquarters Mr. Danzou."

The said man looked towards the female scientist who greeted him. She had long red hair with bright hazel eyes that seemed to match. She seemed no older than eighteen.

"My name is Karin," she said, hugging the clipboard she carried.

"I take it you're the one who will take me to see him?" Danzou asked.

"Y-Yes sir. I was instructed to take you straight to the laboratory."

Danzou snorted.

"Very well."

It wasn't long before he figured out what was going on. In the reports, he had heard that there was another survivor from the Madara Island incident; a young girl. It seemed that Tsunade wasn't going to allow him to meet her.

_Another time then, _the man mused.

The young scientist led him through many corridors, most of which weren't worth paying any attention to. They did pass many of the devil hunters moving up and down the halls. Some of them nonchalantly carried guns or other weapons that they normally use while on missions. As Karin led him deeper into the complex, the number of the black uniformed commandos dwindled while the number of personnel in white lab coats increased. Danzou recognized them as some of the researchers that worked there. They were getting closer to the lab.

It wasn't long before Karin stopped in front of a door at the corner of a hall and unclipped her identification card from her lab coat collar. She glanced back before swiping it through the card reader and awkwardly stepped aside.

"Please step this way, sir," she said, gesturing for him to enter.

The elderly man stared at her for a moment, watching her wince at his intense gaze before entering the room.

He found himself inside a relatively small computer room. A row of scientists wearing visors sat at a large console in front of an even larger window.

"Ah, Mr. Danzou…"

The vice president turned to see a younger man approaching him. This man was known as Dr. Amachi, one of KONOHA's head scientists of research. He was no doubt a brilliant mind and a valuable asset to KONOHA. However little did Tsunade know, that Dr. Amachi was actually a member of ROOT and worked directly for Danzou. It was he who informed him of the demon king's arrival.

"Welcome sir," Dr. Amachi said, shaking Danzou's hand. "You are just in time."

"For what?" Danzou asked indifferently.

Amachi merely smiled as he guided him over towards the large window. He then nodded to a nearby female scientist and she began typing away at the console.

Danzou peered into the window. It gave the view of an even larger squared room with pearl white tiles on the floors, walls and ceiling. This must've been the room where subjects were tested. Suddenly, a doorway appeared in the wall. Danzou's eyes narrowed as he watched a figure step into the room.

"Allow me to introduce to you our guest of honor," Dr. Amachi said. "Naruto Uzumaki, the current demon king."

Danzou's brows furrowed.

_Demon king? Him?_

This was a young boy; probably no younger than a high school teenager. He was wearing a light blue jumpsuit, probably compliments of the KONOHA Research Division. His wild golden hair made him the splitting image of Minato Namikaze, but looked apart due to the whisker lines on his face. Danzou snorted.

"I want to speak to him," he said.

"Yes of course," Amachi answered quickly.

* * *

Naruto looked around with a bored look in his eye. A doorway had appeared inside his cell and he had nonchalantly stepped through it only to find absolutely nothing in the next room.

_What the hell is this place? _He wondered. _And what am I supposed to do in here?_

He clicked his tongue in annoyance. This room was just a super sized version of the cell he was in.

"Naruto Uzumaki, correct?"

Naruto looked up in confusion at the sound of the voice. His eyes settled on a rectangular mirror high up on the wall. He smirked.

"Are you the demon king?" the voice asked.

He crossed his arms.

"Who wants to know?"

"This is the vice president of the Country of Fire. You may call me Danzou."

Naruto slowly began pacing as he crossed his arms.

"If I told you that I was, would you believe me?"

"Yes."

Just then, Naruto laughed.

"There's a manufactured lie if I ever heard one," he said, grinning. "You're definitely a politician."

"Hmm, you saw right through me," Danzou said with a little amusement in his voice. "Well then, would you prove that you are who you say you are?"

Naruto's smile faded.

"How would you want me to prove that?"

Suddenly, white tiles disappeared from walls around him. Green long blurs began flying around the room, filling the air with shrieks.

"Kill these please," Danzou deadpanned.

Naruto sighed.

"Ask a stupid question, huh?" he muttered as he let his hands drop to his sides.

Clearly these things stunk like demons. They weren't exactly small, but they were quick and could fly. Suddenly, one of the green blurs sped towards Naruto. The demon king however, merely sidestepped the assault and it plunged into the floor. Now that it was stuck a few inches deep within the floor tiles, Naruto could see it more clearly.

The demon was in the form of a green thick broadsword with a pair of demonic wings at the hilt. There was a blood red eye with a black slit in the middle on the center of the sword, frantically looking around as it squirmed for freedom. For the moment, Naruto ignored it and focused his attention on the ones still in the air. Suddenly, another one began spinning and swooped down on him. Unfortunately for it, a sphere formed in Naruto's hand and he met it head on. The encounter shattered the sword demon into several pieces.

The demon king then suddenly _moved _sideward when two more demon swords shot in his direction. He managed to grab one of them and bat the other away, scraping the eye. He then broke the sword he was holding over his knee. Tossing aside the pieces, he turned and approached the sword still embedded into the floor. It managed to wiggle itself free, but could do nothing else before Naruto grabbed it by the hilt. He turned and launched it as a spear towards the viewing mirror where his spectators were—

--and pinned another demon sword into it just as it was passing by.

Grinning, he walked over towards the remaining demon sword, which was still flopping around the ground like a fish without water and stomped on it until it broke into pieces.

* * *

"Well, that was interesting," Danzou mused.

So he decided not to use much of his power on these small fries it seemed. This left Danzou somewhat disappointed, but he understood.

Such things weren't worthy of his true power.

Danzou looked towards Dr. Amachi, who had the expression of fury written all over his face. He as well as another scientist were shaken by Naruto's little stunt.

"Such insolence for someone under our care," he said, a smile appearing on his face. "It's as if he was reminding us that he could break out of here whenever he wanted."

Danzou eyed the sword that was embedded into the viewing window. The display had been somewhat entertaining, but it wasn't enough. He wanted more.

Amachi pressed a button on the console. Soon, men in blue uniforms surrounded the demon king. Naruto merely looked around at them before lying face first on the ground with his hands on his head.

"It's strange to see him so cooperative," Amachi said.

"He's most likely planning something," Danzou replied. "Move him to a different cell. I want to speak to him face-to-face."

"Yes, of course."

* * *

Naruto lied perfectly still as the grunt bounded his hands. These men were nothing to him and he could definitely take them out with ease. However, he didn't want to make a scene yet. Sakura was still here and would probably be placed into an unfavorable position.

He still had a contract to fulfill.

The one who called himself Danzou interest him. He was certain that his other spectators were startled by his act, but he sensed that Danzou was unfazed. Chances were he would be hearing from him again. However, there was something else on his mind at the moment that had him chuckling.

"Hey, what's so funny?" one of the commandos asked.

"He's here," Naruto answered. "Someone interesting has finally appeared."

It was cryptic, but the soldier didn't need to know any details. This demonic force that he suddenly felt wasn't like any of the others that he had encountered. Actually, the essence was very much like his. It would be worth watching how things played out in the end. Until then, all he had to do was wait.

* * *

Anko walked happily to her apartment as she munched on her favor dango. Kakashi had indeed made it up to her by getting her back into her favorite restaurant. However, he didn't join her.

_Too bad,_ she thought. _I could've used the company._

Oh well, it was only a matter of time before he needed another favor from her again and she could always ask for something in return of her services. She just had to play her cards right.

In the midst of her thoughts, she suddenly bumped into someone, almost dropping her dango.

"Hey! Watch it!" she snapped.

"Excuse me," the figure said quietly.

Anko said nothing as she watched the figure draw further and further away from her. She didn't recognize him.

He was wearing a soldier uniform much like her, but didn't have the aura of a soldier. He was probably a new guy. A few assignments would change his demeanor very quickly. Anko turned to continue walking home, but stopped when she noticed something on her shoulder. She grabbed grains of it between her fingers and rubbed them together.

"…Sand…?"


	11. Chapter 11

**

* * *

**

Finally! School is done and I can mind my own business for the summer and that also means sooner updates on my fics. Of course, I'm gonna have like a job or something instead of locking myself inside my room for the sake of solely writing and I'm sure none of you would ask me to do that (...right?). My sense of reality is low enough thank-you very much. Anyways enjoy this new update.

* * *

**# 11**

* * *

Anko rubbed the substance between her fingers.

_What the hell?_

That was unusual. Where did it come from?

Her mind soon went onto the man that had bumped into her. Could the sand have come from him?

She turned back around to get a look at him.

_He's gone?!_

The road behind her was completely devoid of life.

Soon, Anko was beginning to find this to be another weird night.

"Sergeant Mitarashi?"

The woman turned around to see a young man standing in front of her. He was in a black uniform and his cap was positioned in the appropriate manner of dress.

"You are needed in the hangar," he said to her.

Judging by his uptight yet awkward form of attention, this was definitely a rookie.

Anko looked back down the desolate road once again.

"Is there something wrong?" the young man asked.

She didn't answer him immediately. Anko couldn't shake the image of the guy she passed out of her mind. She didn't mention it to the rookie because she didn't want to make him nervous. There was something about him that she just couldn't put her finger on.

Something was seriously wrong here.

Not looking that the newbie, she shook her head.

"No, nothing's wrong," she answered, shoving her remaining dango into her mouth.

* * *

Kakashi sighed as he made his way through the building. After informing the president of Danzou's arrival, he was left with a bit of free time. He thought he'd go and spend it visiting a friend of his.

Though the president was the founder of the devil hunter clinic, his friend ran it as it was her own. It wasn't surprising considering that she was a former student of the president. Around this time she would be alone. This was the perfect opportunity to talk to her.

It wasn't long before came upon the doorway leading to her office. Flattening herself against the wall, he leaned towards the doorway and peered inside.

A woman in a long white lab coat placed down a clipboard onto her desk. She brushed her long brown hair aside as she bent down to type something into her computer.

This was Rin, one of his childhood friends.

Ever since they were kids, she had always been the studious type as she was trying to become a doctor. When tragedy struck their families, she had been one of those to sign up with KONOHA along with him. She later became acquainted with the president herself and became one of her students. Now she was a in charge of a clinic.

"How much longer are you going to hang around out there Kakashi?"

She didn't even have to turn around. She also seemed to have the ability of sensing him whenever he was nearby. It was neat at first, but now it was getting a bit tiresome.

Couldn't he get the drop on his friend at least once?

The devil hunter sighed as he stepped into the room.

"You look good," he commented. "You have an easy day?"

"More or less," Rin answered dismissively, waving him off. "I heard you lost Trent. Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Just a few bruises."

She smirked.

"Uh-huh," she sneered. "C'mon, let's see it."

Kakashi sighed as he rolled him his sleeve, to reveal an arm messily wrapped in bandages. She took his arm, first staring at it before looking up at him.

"What?" Kakashi seemed unsettled by the way she was looking at him.

"You suck at taking care of yourself," she said flatly.

"Yeah, don't remind me," the devil hunter replied grudgingly.

Rin released him and turned towards a cabinet as Kakashi took a seat at her desk.

"You losing track of Trent isn't the only thing I heard," she said, pulling out ointments and other bandages.

"You don't say," Kakashi replied knowingly.

She had to be talking about the two guests that he had brought back with him. The base had to have been buzzing about them by now.

Rin shook her head in disbelief as she pulled a chair in front of Kakashi and sat down.

"I still can't believe it," she said, tending his wounds. "You brought back the king of demons, Alive at that!"

"You give me too much credit," Kakashi said. "He came on his own free will."

"That's not how everyone else sees it. You're now officially a hero."

Kakashi sighed. Rin finished administering to his arm and released him.

Now that she was finished, the devil hunter sat back in his chair. He winced and shifted in his chair. It did not go unnoticed by the brunette.

"Kakashi, are you okay?" she asked suspiciously.

"Of course," he replied. "I'm fine."

Rin didn't buy it. She continued staring at him suspiciously and leaned forward, before suddenly poking him in the torso.

Kakashi flinched and Rin glared at him.

"Broken ribs you lying bastard?!" she almost yelled.

Kakashi winced, but not because of the pain. Rin didn't like being lied to, even if was to comfort her. Not ever after the loss of their friend.

"What's the problem? I've already been looked at," Kakashi groaned.

A few years ago, there had been an operation to capture a powerful sorcerer that she took part in as a medic. They captured the sorcerer, but the operation wasn't without casualties. Their friend, Obito Uchiha sacrificed his life in order for them to escape. The eye that was under Kakashi's eye patch was a testament of that noble sacrifice.

"So, how is it?" Rin murmured. "Your eye I mean."

"It's alright," Kakashi answered. "It's kept me alive this long."

"Don't overuse it. You know what happened the last time you did."

"How could I forget," Kakashi grumbled.

* * *

Naruto sat on his bed, staring out of his cell with an annoyed look.

As predicted, he was placed inside another cell. Unlike the last one however, what kept him inside this time was two feet of bullet proof glass.

He didn't exactly know why they put him here instead of the cell he was in the first time. Maybe they felt the need to show him off like a display in a zoo.

Humans were stupid like that after all.

Soon, he spotted figures approaching his cell. Two he could tell were guards. One however, was dressed in a navy blue business suit. He sported an eye patch seemed to be in his fifties, judging from his grey hair and the fact that he was walking with a cane. In his remaining eye, he seemed to be experienced with battles.

This man was interesting indeed.

Naruto watched curiously as the group stopped in front of his cell. One of the guards went off to the side and slid his ID card on the side panel. A doorway appeared in the center of the glass. The blond watched in amusement as the man stepped into the cell alone and took a seat at the small table in the center of the small room.

The doorway disappeared.

"So you're the one called Danzou," Naruto sneered. "You're pretty bold to lock yourself in here with me."

"Well of course," the man said confidently. "You'd gain nothing from killing me."

"I'd gain a cheap thrill," Naruto replied. "Luckily for you, I find you more interesting alive."

"Perhaps, I'm just a lucky man," said Danzou.

Naruto smirked.

"So, what do you want? I'm sure you're not here to see how the tax dollars are treating me."

Danzou chuckled.

"You're right," he said. "I wanted to ask you something."

"I'm all ears."

Danzou leaned forward with a smile.

"What are you planning?"

Silence reigned over the two as Naruto simply stared at the elderly man before smirking in amusement.

"A little direct aren't we?"

"Things won't get done if I just beat around the bush," Danzou shrugged.

"I like that."

"Does that warrant me a straight answer?"

Naruto chuckled as he lied down on his bed, placing his hands behind his head and one of his legs over the other. This Danzou man was really amusing.

"I'm not planning to do anything," he said.

"You're not?" Danzou did nothing to hide the feint surprise in his voice. "So you're not planning to break out of here?"

"Nope," Naruto said with a grin. "Actually, I kinda like it here. Nice and cozy."

Naruto looked towards the ceiling.

"Besides, the real fun is happening soon."

Danzou's smile faded.

"The real fun?" he repeated.

Naruto closed his eyes.

"You'll see."

* * *

Anko stared into the sky, still following behind the rookie commando. The sun had jus disappeared from the sky leaving the only a faint glow in the horizon.

Anko's mind was still one the man that she had bumped into earlier. Her thoughts were more on what she planned on doing to him when she found him. She wanted to deal with whatever she needed to do in the hangar as quickly as possible.

_Speaking of which…_

Stars were beginning to appear and they still hadn't reached the hangar. She looked down at the back of the rookie in front of her and noticed something.

They were navigating through a labyrinth of parked transport trucks. This wasn't the way to the hangar.

"Hey, I thought you said we were going to the hangar," she said.

"Oh we are," the rookie in front her replied. "We're just taking a different route."

"And we don't see the hangar yet?"

With that, the rookie stopped. Warning bells began ringing in Anko's head. She placed a hand over her sidearm, ready to use it when the time comes. The infantryman sighed.

"You were never easy to fool, eh Anko?"

"Anko?"

One of Anko's eyebrows rose. Did this man of lower rank just address her by name?

"But then…"

Suddenly, a hand clasped over Anko's mouth. Before she could register what was happening, the commando hoisted her into the air. Anko's hand grabbed the arm as she was pinned to a truck.

"…that wasn't very convincing," the commando finished.

Anko could only watch in horror as the man raised his head, revealing a pair of golden eyes with slits traveling through them. She knew these eyes too well.

_No, it can't be._

The man smiled.

"My, have you grown," he hissed.

Anko struggled to remove the hand from her face. It wouldn't budge. The commando chuckled in amusement.

"And you're as feisty as ever."

Anko began kicking at the commando which only made him laugh at her feeble attempt for freedom. Suddenly, the female soldier began feeling a burning sensation on her neck. Her soon, her strength began to leave her and the pain intensified. This didn't go unnoticed by her captor. Upon seeing her pained expression, he promptly released her and she met the ground face first. Anko attempted to crawl away from the man. Unfortunately, one of her arms didn't agree with the course of action and she collapsed.

The man, who had been watching, merely approached her side and moved her collar slightly. She heard him chuckle.

"So you've kept it after all these years?" he asked. "I'm touched."

"Screw…you…" Anko retorted weakly.

The man merely ignored it and smirked.

"It was wonderful seeing you again after all these years, Anko," he said. "I wish we could spend more time together."

He crouched down and cupped her chin. He forced her to look into his eyes.

"Unfortunately, business beckons."

He released her and stood up.

"Pandemonium is about to begin," he said, grinning. "I hope you're ready."

* * *

A lone commando approached the administration tower with his eyes hidden by the rim of his cap. He had almost slipped up when he had bumped into that woman. Fortunately, another soldier had arrived and led her away. Now he could fulfill his mission with ease.

As he drew closer, there were two men dressed in a similar fashion as he was. Apparently, they were guarding the door.

At first, the young soldier thought that they would let him pass.

"Hold it right there," one of them said, walking towards him. "I've never seen you around before. Are you new?"

This was snag, but the commando didn't show his frustration. He kept quiet, but the guard didn't seem to care.

"You wanna show me some I.D.?" he asked.

The soldier stared at the guard for a moment and then looked towards his partner. He looked back at the guard in front of him and muttered.

"…no…"

The guard eyed him questioningly.

"What did you say?"

"I said…no…" the soldier answered more cruelly.

Suddenly, some creature—one of the monsters that he brought with him—lunged at the guard from seemingly nowhere and pinned him to the ground. Seeing his partner in trouble, he made a grab at his sidearm—

--only to suffer the same fate.

The monsters were exactly like the ones he saw roaming around at the prison. However this time, they were under his control.

"Tear them apart," he muttered.

The soldier's lips twitched as the guards screams of bloody murder filled the night. No doubt the agonizing cries had alerted more devil hunters. His original plan was to start the mayhem once he was inside.

"Oh well. May as well tear it apart from the outside," he said with sand running down his face.

* * *

_What was that?!_

Tsunade was on her way to the labs to meet with Danzou when she had heard the noise.

It sounded like screams.

Just then her secretary had spotted her and ran towards her.

"Madam President did you—"

"Yes," Tsunade answered evenly. She turned and looked out a nearby window.

Judging by the sound of the cries, it seemed pretty close. She looked at Shizune with a grim expression.

"Order the tower in full alert. And get Sakura to safety."

"Yes ma'am," Shizune quickly replied.

The woman turned to run—

--only to be thrown off her feet when the building suddenly lurched.

Tsunade pushed herself off the wall she had fallen onto.

_So it's started…_ she thought.

* * *

-Attention all personnel! We are under attack! I repeat: we are under attack! This is not a drill!-

Danzou shifted his passive gaze over towards Naruto, who was lying comfortably in his bed.

"Don't look at me," Naruto sneered. "I've got nothing to do with this."

Danzou snorted as he stood up.

"I'll take your word for it."

Just then, a doorway appeared in the glass entryway.

"Mr. Vice president," a guard called out.

"Yes, yes, I'm coming," Danzou replied, turning towards the exit.

When he got to the door, he looked back toward the blond.

"Try not to disappoint me."


	12. Chapter 12

**Originally, I had thought to hold off on finishing this chapter. However, a sudden burst of ideas hit me in the face so it couldn't be helped. Enjoy!**

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#12

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"Oww…"

Sakura rubbed her temple. She was sleeping peacefully until her head suddenly made contact with the floor. Now that she was awake, she was fully aware of the rapid footfalls sounding outside her door.

_What's going on?_

The only guess that she could come up with was that the tower was in some sort of emergency. This was a guest room and given the situation, she didn't feel quite safe here. Her idea was to relocate to a safer place. However, her plan hit a snag.

Gunshots erupted in the distance.

"Don't let him through!"

Gaara watched with disinterest as two more soldiers joined the group that was unloading rounds of assault rifles on him. His sand continued to deflect the oncoming fire as he nonchalantly trekked towards them.

"Shit! Nothing will hit him!" he heard one of them say.

It was about time that they figured that out too. Their weapons couldn't stop him from achieving his goals. He kept his slow passive walk towards the soldiers.

"Stand back, guys!"

Gaara stopped his advance when another soldier joined the group. The others backed away as he readied to fire the rocket launcher that he had trained on him.

"Eat this!"

The rocket suddenly spiraled towards him and detonated. A thick cloud filled the corridor as the soldiers waited to see the status of the intruder.

Unfortunately, Gaara stepped out of the fog unscathed.

"My turn…"

Suddenly, a thick haze filled the hallway. The guards looked around in confusion and some even swatted at the heavy haze.

"Sand…?"

Without warning, particles of the haze began to take the form of spikes. Just then, the projectiles sped off and began ramming into the soldiers at breakneck speeds…like bullets.

The haze lifted, and the hallway was littered with bodies.

The obstacles had been only a nuisance to Gaara. However, now that they were gone for the time being he could move on to his main objective. Multiple creatures had been with him earlier arrived at the scene only to find many corpses. Some of them sniffed at the bodies while others sat around their leader, awaiting his orders.

"Find the president," Gaara said to them.

With a growl, the creatures sped off, heading deeper into the building.

* * *

Naruto lied on his bed, humming a tune.

The whole base was on alert and he was certain that it was demons running amok. He wasn't concerned since most of them were small fries. By now, everyone on the base was fighting some kind of demon and for him it was almost show time.

Naruto got up out of his bed and nonchalantly walked towards the glass that kept him inside. He eyed the guard standing near his cell. It was clear that he was somewhat nervous about what was happening around him. Naruto just needed to get him to realize that it would start happening here too.

"Yo, buddy…" he said, knocking on the glass.

The guard jumped at first, but then turned towards him.

"You might wanna let me out of here," he said.

Oddly enough, the guard suddenly had a burst of confidence.

"Or what? You're gonna kill me?" he asked in a sarcastic tone.

Naruto smirked.

"No…"

Suddenly, there was a loud bang on the door which caused the guard to whirl around, pointing his handgun towards the only entryway.

There was a dent protruding inward from the steel door. Suddenly, there was another loud pound on the door and another dent appeared. Whatever was on the other side certainly had the strength to tear him apart. Naruto chuckled.

"I won't kill you, but they might," he said darkly. "So how 'bout it? Do we have a deal or what?"

* * *

Kakashi pulled his hand out of the demon's chest, letting it drop dead onto the floor.

_That was close _he mused, staring down at the carcass.

He looked back towards Rin, seeing her backed up against the table and a little winded from the encounter. He could tell that it had been a while since she had encountered a demon.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Huh?" she seemed startled at first, but then relaxed. "Yeah."

Her breathing slowed as she calmed down. Kakashi turned away from her to inspect the demon's body. His eyes narrowed.

"A Rin, you notice anything strange about this demon?" Kakashi asked, his eyes staying on the corpse.

Rin looked down at the demon.

"It's wearing one of our uniforms," she said.

Kakashi nodded.

"Now the question is why."

Kakashi knelt down next to the monster for a closer look. It was dressed in the same black military uniform as he was, it even handgun still unused in its holster. He turned the body over and read the name sewed in grey above the left pocket.

"Yuuji."

The name didn't sound familiar, but it did give him some sort of conclusion. Rin behind him frowned.

"Yuuji? Does this mean that the demon was possibly human?"

"I don't know," Kakashi replied, standing up. "I've never seen anything like this before."

He looked back at her.

"How soon can you do an autopsy?"

"It would be a few minutes," Rin replied. "Do you think you can watch out for me?"

"Not a problem," Kakashi answered, removing his eye patch.

* * *

Tsunade sat in a conference room at the end of a long table with two soldiers standing with her. Once again, she was drinking red wine. This was the procedure should the base come under siege. In her opinion, the room didn't seem very safe since large windows seemed to have replaced the walls of the room. She was told that they were reinforced.

Nevertheless, she was to be locked inside this room as the rest of the base quickly quelled the situation. However, she knew that wasn't happening. She had heard reports of the monsters multiplying.

She had also heard reports of a man made of sand wandering around.

It wouldn't be a surprise if it didn't take long for him to tear through the defenses here. Devil hunters or not, they were still only human.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang at the door. The guards flinched, their weapons trained on the door.

"Don't worry madam president," one of them said. "It's our job to protect you."

Tsunade chuckled inwardly at those words.

_Protect me huh?_

Soon, there were more bangs at the doors, even causing them to bend inward a little from the pounding on the other side. Tsunade finished off her glass then placed it at her side along with the wine bottle.

"I suppose it's been a while since I've killed devils," she said nonchalantly as she stood up from her chair.

She gripped the leg of the table.

"You two might want to step back."

The two rookie soldiers looked at each other before taking a few steps back.

Finally, the doors flew open and brown creatures flooded the room. Tsunade smirked before effortlessly lifting the long table and batting half of the demons through the right wall window while pounding some of the remaining monsters into the floor with it. Needless to say, they didn't last.

Neither did the table.

The two remaining creatures lunged at the blonde. Unluckily for them, Tsunade caught them both by their throats. Effortlessly, she threw them upward, sending them through the ceiling.

"Hmmm…"

Tsunade dusted her hands as she examined her handiwork.

"Not as good as the old days but…"

The blonde had mixed thoughts about the whole ordeal. When she was younger, devil hunting was more thrilling than paperwork and speeches. Hell, it was even more fun than drinking. It still was, but that wasn't who she was now.

Her thoughts then shifted towards the demons she had killed. Oddly enough, the creatures seemed to be wearing the military uniforms of her devil hunters.

_They wouldn't just put on the uniforms of their victims… _she thought.

"It's just like before…"

Tsunade looked back at the two guards behind her.

"Those guys who got killed by one of them, came back and turned into a monster," one of them said.

"Just like the others."

She found that spec of information to be rather interesting. She had heard of such a thing taking place before.

It soon dawned on her.

_Can it be?_

There was only one man in the world she knew that could create such a monstrosity. If it truly was him then…

Tsunade shook herself of such thoughts. She was just going to have to see for herself. She turned toward the two men standing behind her.

"Won't you fine gentlemen accompany me to the laboratory?" she asked, smiling sweetly.

The soldiers were still a little in awe of her inhuman strength.

"Y-Yes ma'am," one of them answered.

It seemed that the president could take care of herself.

* * *

Sakura paced anxiously around in her room. Earlier, everything outside her room was hectic. Now however, things were becoming increasingly quiet and it unnerved her. Was the situation finally controlled?

She didn't think so.

No one had come to check on her ever since the whole thing began. Something was definitely wrong.

She could feel it. Just then, her eyes widened as her fears were confirmed.

A loud crash sounded.

_What was that?

* * *

_

"Not here."

Gaara looked away from the empty room and continued his trek down the hallway. Those creatures that he let loose earlier had not returned to him yet. Either they were still searching for the president as he still was or they had gotten themselves killed by other surviving soldiers. It didn't matter to him.

Once the humans became back as monsters, they lost all sense of self, sense, and apparently intelligence. As long as they were smart enough to stay out of his way, then it didn't bother him.

Gaara stopped at another door.

* * *

Sakura jumped at the sound of another crashing noise. That one sounded closer that time. Warning bells had begun blaring in Sakura's head. There wasn't a doubt in the girl's mind that she was in danger. Since it wasn't a good idea to run outside of the room at the moment, she needed to hide herself somewhere.

* * *

Gaara clicked his tongue.

There wasn't anyone in this room either. He was getting annoyed. This was supposed to be a simple mission: raid the administration building, wreak havoc, find the president cowering in some room, kill her then leave.

The president was very good at hiding.

Gaara wasn't in the mood for games. When he found the president, he would be sure to make sure that she suffered before she died.

He looked away from the empty room and down the hallway.

There was only one door left.

Gaara crept toward it. This one had to be it.

He turned the knob.

* * *

Sakura placed her hands over her mouth to keep herself from whimpering when she heard the door open. Her choices of hiding places were limited so she ended up settling inside the closet.

She had hoped that being out of sight would've been enough. However, hopes of that were dashed when she heard the intruder step inside the room, closing the door gently behind them. Sakura's eyes widened as she heard footsteps approach her. She placed a trembling hand over her chest, hoping to suppress the sound of her rapidly beating heart. The intruder drew closer and closer. Sakura just knew that she was caught.

The closet doors began to open.

Sakura readied herself to pounce on the intruder. If she was going to die, she was going to fight.

After mere seconds, which seemed like agonizing hours, the doors opened. Sakura was about to lunge…

"Sakura?"

The girl blinked.

"Shizune?!"

The young woman quickly shushed her then smiled.

"I'm glad that I found you before he did," she whispered.

"You almost gave me a heart attack!" Sakura whispered back.

"Sorry, but I couldn't let him catch me."

Sakura sighed as she stepped out of the closet. It seemed that her close run-ins were starting up again.

"C'mon," Shizune said. "Let's get out of here before he finds us."

Sakura nodded in agreement as she began following the young woman towards the door.

Shizune reaches out and places a hand on the knob—

--the door exploded, knocking them both back.

Sakura lied on the floor, dazed at what just happened. Shizune was lying next to her.

She wasn't moving.

That's when she noticed a new figure entered the room.

"What do we have here?"

Sakura screamed.

* * *

**Plz leave a review.**


	13. Chapter 13

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#13

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Gaara peered stoically into the room.

Before he began investigating a room not to far from here, he had heard footsteps. When he went to investigate, he noticed a shadow moving into this room. There was a woman lying on the floor wearing a complete blue business attire of a jacket and a matching skirt. She also seemed to be wearing a now broken pair of rectangular sunglasses. He then focused on the young girl sitting next to her. However the moment he did, an inexplicable rage began to flood his mind. His bloodlust was so strong to the point where it was almost painful.

Gaara clenched his fists at his side and gritted his teeth.

He was losing himself.

Why? This girl before him wasn't anything extraordinary. She seemed to be an average high school girl with pink hair, barely older than him and yet looking at her made his blood boil. It was as if it were commanding him, no demanding him to kill this girl in the slowest, most horrible way possible.

As if he could refuse.

Gaara raised a hand in front of him and suddenly it was incased in sand then formed into a spike. The girl's eyes widened in fear and she began scooting away from him. His face formed a maniacal grin as he began walking after her. He would make sure that she would suffer severely before she died. He would enjoy her cries of agony. His blood commanded it. He had no choice.

Neither did he care.

Just then, the pink-haired girl backed into the wall. His grin widened.

She was trapped.

"I won't be satisfied with just your death," Gaara said, raising the spike.

Gaara watched as fear completely fill the girl's eyes. This is what he wanted. This was what his blood was craving for.

Yet, he still was not satisfied.

There was still a small light of hope that someone would come save her. Once that was gone, then he would be able to enjoy himself. His bloodlust still wasn't sated after all.

Just then, something crashed through the window. It attacked him but his sand defended him. Gaara watched as the figure bounced back beside him.

"Looks like I made it in time." He said, shouldering the rocket launcher he carried.

Initially, Gaara had no clue what this man was talking about, but then it dawned on him. He looked down towards his prey—

--only to find that she was gone.

He whirled around to see the pink haired girl next to the woman, whom he had knocked unconscious earlier.

The man jumped in front of him, obscuring his view of his prey. He was very angry by the intruder's interruption and he would see to it that he'd pay for it very dearly. However, he was hesitant.

This young man wasn't like any of the other humans. Everything in Gaara's being was warning him to be very wary of this man.

He was dangerous.

* * *

Naruto smirked as he stared at the teen in front of him. He shouldered the rocket launcher that he had gotten from the soldier guarding his cell. The man in front of him was wearing the same uniforms as the other devil hunters around, minus the cap. There were dark rings surrounding his eyes.

_Definitely, not human _he thought.

He chuckled.

"I've been waiting for someone like you to come along," he said. "Now things will get a little more interesting around here."

"Naruto?"

The blond snorted.

"You're still here?" he sneered, not looking back at the girl.

He raised his arms into a shrug.

"I don't mind you watching, but if you stay there then I can't guarantee your safety."

"Eh, right," Sakura answered.

Naruto glanced back to see the pink haired girl, trying to wake the unconscious woman next to her. The woman sat up and Sakura took her arm and held it over her shoulder and to her remaining arm and wrapped it around the woman's side.

"C'mon Shizune, we really need to go," she said, lifting the woman.

Naruto looked back and watched as Sakura helped the barely conscious woman out side the room. He soon heard a low growl sound from in front of him and turned to see the teen's face seemingly crumbling away and shattering on the floor as if they were dirt clots.

A layer of sand texture lied beneath the missing pieces of human flesh. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Well, this is interesting."

The blond watched with mild intrigue as the redhead continued his metamorphosis. Sand covered the teen's arms, lengthening them into claws. Sand began to cover most of his upper body. The remaining flesh on his face was soon replaced by sand. The head itself had changed completely inhuman, its shape taking after some kind of animal. Finally, his eyes had turned completely black with golden dots floating in the center of them.

This monster let out a piercing roar.

Naruto merely chuckled.

"Now that's what I'm talking about."

The monster then launched itself at the blond. Naruto merely grinned maniacally as he aimed to rocket launcher.

* * *

Sakura was merely five feet away from the door when the room suddenly exploded behind her, knocking her off her feet and causing the woman to fall on top of her. Dazed, she looked back to see small fires scattered all throughout the hallway.

_Naruto…

* * *

_

_Damn him!_

Anko fell against a nearby truck to compose herself. She placed a hand around her neck as she breathed heavily.

_Damn him for turning up now after all these years!_

Sweat trickled down her face. Her body felt hot.

It was that man who had done this to her.

She had hoped that he was locked up for good. However, she should've known better.

So why was he here?

There was no way that he'd break out of prison just to see her. She no longer had any value to him.

Anko pushed herself from the wall and began to move sluggishly towards the nearest building. She had passed a few bodies of her comrades earlier and did feel some sorrow for them.

Earlier, monsters ran past her, not even sparing her any interest as they did. At first she wondered why, but then she remembered.

She was one of them.

It was taking just about all of her willpower not transform just like them.

_I refuse to become some mindless monster _she mused.

She picked up her pace, but that turned out to be a mistake. Something caught her foot, causing her to slam into the asphalt face first. Groaning she rolled over to look at what she had tripped over.

_Another body…_

Just then, the pain in her body intensified. The pain was so great that her world was darkening.

She was going to black out again.

She no longer had any willpower to keep her from doing so.

"Anko?!"

The woman looked up to see a faint figure running towards her. She managed a weak smile.

"Ka…ka..sh…"

* * *

"Anko! Hang in there!" Kakashi said as he knelt down next to her.

When he sat her up, he found that she was already unconscious. Relief filled him since she was neither dead nor dying. However, half of her face as well as every other visible part of her body were covered in strange dark markings. Discomfort was written all over her expression. She seemed to be in a lot of pain.

Kakashi picked the woman up bridal style and turned to make his way back to the infirmary—

--when he suddenly heard a thunderous explosion behind him.

Kakashi he looked back to see a gargantuan sized monster standing from a half-destroyed administration tower. His eyes widened.

"Madam President! Sakura!"

* * *

Naruto smirked as he looked up at the monster.

"My, it looks like you've hit a growth spurt," he sneered. "You've gotten uglier too."

The monster roared in response.

Naruto's smile faded as he grew stern. The creature's body was made entirely of sand.

"That's a troublesome body you got there," he muttered. "At least you'd make one hell of a sand castle."

Just then, the monster focused its hateful gaze onto him. Naruto frowned as its stomach began to inflate.

_What the hell?_

Naruto watched at the creature raised a fist then brought it down onto its stomach. Suddenly, he was hit with an unseen force that consequently crushed the rest of the building along with him. The monster chuckled at this though it didn't last long.

"Well, that was close."

Strangely enough, the giant monster had heard Naruto's voice.

"I'm not even sure if even I would have survived that."

The monster looked around, trying to pinpoint the sound of the voice—

--when he noticed a blond haired figure running up his arm.

A revolving sphere formed in his hand.

"Surprise!" Naruto yelled, slamming the sphere into the side of the creature's face.

The impact blew of more than half of the monster's face. Instead of appearing to be in pain, the monster's now deformed face simply regenerated. Naruto smirked.

"Heh, what an annoying ability," he muttered.

* * *

"Sounds like it' started."

Danzou followed two KONOHA personnel acting as his bodyguards through the laboratory. Two of the scientists, Karin and Amachi followed him. Now that the base was under siege, he now had to retrieve the demon king's test data and then retreat.

They quickly arrived at the observational room where they had viewed the demon king's abilities from earlier. However, there was someone there before them.

There was a long-haired man in a black trench coat. He dropped the commando he was holding as he turned toward the group, revealing his extremely pale complexion. The commando slumped lifelessly to the floor.

"Ah, Mr. Director," he said with a smile. "It's been too long."

Danzou didn't appear as equally pleased to see the man. Just then, Danzou's bodyguards raised their assault rifles. The man merely raised his hands and suddenly, the two commandoes were instantly impaled by swords. The scientist stared with eyes wide as their only defense fell lifelessly to the floor. Danzou however, maintained his indifferent persona.

"Seymour, I wasn't aware that you had left the detention facility," he said.

Seymour shrugged.

"Well yes, though I did enjoy my stay there," he said nonchalantly. "I had to leave unfortunately. Business beckons."

"What kind of business?" Danzou asked.

Seymour grinned, widening his golden eyes.

"The inhuman kind," he replied. "You spoke with _him_ didn't you Mr. Director?"

Danzou said nothing.

"Oh, well it doesn't matter," Seymour said, raising his hand in a shrug. "Frankly, I wish that I could've met him personally, but unfortunately I haven't the time. It'll have to wait till later."

"What do you want?" Danzou suddenly asked.

Seymour chuckled sinisterly.

"Oh just the usual," he answered. "Chaos…mayhem…destruction; It's been peaceful for too long. I think it's about time I liven things up."

Just then, something erupted through the floor—the head of an enormous snake. It opened its mouth revealing a stairway descending into a dark cavern.

"And I'll take that test data while I'm at it," Seymour added. "Dr. Amachi, if you would…"

Danzou glared at Seymour as Amachi stepped forward with a smirk on his face. He pulled a data disc from his coat pocket before handing it to Seymour and entering the snake's mouth. Danzou narrowed his eyes.

"I knew there was a traitor within the foundation somewhere," he said. "I didn't expect to be triple crossed by my own double-agent."

"A strange world we live in, no?" Seymour said. "As you probably already know, I am in need of some personnel, so I've come to do a bit of recruiting."

"I see…" Danzou replied.

"So doctor if you would…"

The vice president snorted at this.

"Karin too, huh?"

As mentioned, the young researcher timidly approached the snake, but stopped. Seymour bowed curtly, urging her to step inside which she soon did.

After Karin disappeared, the snake closed its mouth and submerged itself back into the hole that it had formed, leaving Seymour.

"So what now?" asked Danzou. "Kill me and leave?"

Seymour smirked.

"What would I gain from doing that?"

"I wouldn't know," Danzou deadpanned.

Seymour chuckled at his response then looked down towards the corpse that was lying next to him.

It twitched.

"Oh, it looks like he's about to awaken," Seymour sneered.

The body twitched again and again. Horns began to form at the forehead. The eyes began to turn black.

Suddenly, a single gunshot echoed throughout the room.

The body stopped convulsing.

Seymour frowned.

"I knew it was you."

Danzou's and Seymour's attention followed the sound of the voice towards a woman in a black suit, standing a few yards behind Seymour. She had a handgun trained on the pale man. The soldiers who were with her had their rifles trained on him as well. Seymour however, didn't seem threatened. He turned around and faced her.

"Tsunade, what a pleasant surprise," he sneered. "Or perhaps I should say, madam president."

"Why are you here?" Tsunade asked, keeping her voice even.

"I wanted to see you," Seymour replied innocently. "You know, catch up and chat about the old days."

"I see your dry sense of humor is still intact," Tsunade deadpanned.

"And you're still as stern as ever," Seymour said, amused. "I guess being the president doesn't leave too much time for you to lighten up."

"Unfortunately, it doesn't."

Silence filled the room. One of the soldiers that accompanied the president readied to open fire onto the pale man. However, Tsunade held her arm out in front of him.

"So did you come to kill me?" she asked.

"Not really," Seymour answered bluntly. "I sent for an assassin to do that but I knew he wouldn't be able to do it.

Seymour smirked.

"You're too smart for that."

"So what then?!" Tsunade asked, growing annoyed. "Why bring all this mayhem?"

Seymour turned around, running a hand through his hair.

"I really wanted to see you," Seymour said. "Unfortunately, it's about time for us to part."

Seymour turned and approached the large hole.

"I'll see you again, I promise," he said before jumping in.

It was then that the president lowered her weapon. She knew that there wasn't anything that she or anyone else in the room could do to the man. She looked towards the ceiling in sorrow.

_First Jiraiya, now you _she thought. _How many more friends must I lose?

* * *

_**Hoped you enjoyed it. Plz leave a review.  
**


	14. Chapter 14

**Amazing, another installation to King of Devils. To be honest, I had finished this chapter a while ago. However, it was also around the time when my computer crashed. Now that I've gained access to another computer as well as my computer's repairs nearing completion, the updates will be coming again. Well enough of my rambling, enjoy!**

* * *

**#14**

Naruto snorted as the sand demon regenerated its newest wound from the top of lamppost.

"No matter how many times I damage you, you always put yourself back together again."

The sand monster—which was some yards away from him—roared in response. Suddenly, it dropped down on all fours like the animal it was. A large tail formed behind it, completing the form of a raccoon-like dog.

"Looks like you're done changing," Naruto sneered. "And yes, that tail does make your ass look big."

He smirked as the raccoon-dog began to inflate in response, and then leapt off the lamppost into the air just before the area around the lamppost became distorted. It was soon uprooted and blown into the trail of destruction that suddenly appeared. This "wind cannon", he called it was fast and very destructive. No man could take a hit from that and live.

….No ordinary man that is.

Naruto landed on some nearby buildings that hadn't been destroyed yet. His eyes widened and a grin formed on his face when he looked up to seem the demon's tail rushing towards him. He began running towards it full speed before leaping over it. The tail smashed into a taller building, bringing it down instantly as the beast turned around. Naruto kept moving. Ahead of him, two of the demons that roamed the base, suddenly climbed onto the roof of the building he was currently on and charged at him.

Naruto sidestepped the first demon that lunged at him and delivered a fierce straight into the second demon's face, sending it toppling off the building. He then whirled around and drove a fierce roundhouse into the remaining demon's temple, sending it spiraling off the building as well—

--just to blur sideward as the sand demon's fist came crashing down.

As the building began crumbling, Naruto jumped on top of the giant's enclosed fist and began running along the demon's arm.

That's when he noticed a red haired teen jutting out the demon's head.

Recognizing him as the teen he had encountered earlier, Naruto grinned maniacally.

A spiraling blue sphere formed in his hand.

_So that's how it is _he thought.

Naruto thrust the ball forward towards his target—

--and hit nothing but air.

He was then caught by surprise when sand suddenly surrounded him and entrapped him inside. He used the sphere to break free, however he looked down to see dark chasm.

"Tch."

The sand demon jumped upward and closed its massive jaws, trapping the blond within its mouth. Naruto didn't stay there for long. Suddenly, the side of the sand monster's mouth exploded open and the blond leapt out and landed on another lamppost.

Naruto looked up and watched as the hole he made close up. He chuckled.

"Though this has been fun, I think it's time that we put an end to this," he said.

The demon glared at him and roared. Suddenly, a violent sandstorm began blowing around the blond.

"I guess this means you agree then."

Soon, Naruto was entombed inside a large sphere of sand. The demon was attempting to crush him.

However, it wasn't meant to be.

The ball of sand exploded. Instead of finding Naruto, a new form stood in his place.

A silhouette stood encased by a fiery red aura. Appendages jutted out near its head slanted backwards. Four 'tails' waved behind it.

"Only four, huh?" the figure hissed. "Oh well, that's more than enough to dispose of you."

In response, the demon began to inflate, a signal that it was prepping its destructive wind cannon. The other creature's tails moved in front of it, forming a ball of demonic energy.

The sand demon unleashed its attack first. The other demon unleashed a destructive beam. The wind cannon dissipated when the beam charged straight through it.

* * *

"…Interesting…"

The lone figure stared smiling as he watched the battle from a safe distance atop of an undamaged building. He had killed many of the demons roaming the building just to be able to sit and watch here. He had heard some rumors that the demon king had returned and opted to take a look.

He was slightly disappointed with what he had found.

The demon king appeared not to be at full power.

He figured the king's lack of power was due to the many centuries that he was sealed away. He would no doubt want to restore his powers.

_Perhaps I should give him a hand, _the figure thought.

The beam of light soon faded.

The battle would be over soon.

* * *

"So you're still alive?" the demonic form asked upon seeing the sand demon or rather what was left of it. That last attack was meant to destroy the monster completely. However, the monster attempted to evade it. As a result, a little more than half of the sand demon's body was missing and was restoring itself much more slowly than usual.

"Damn….you…."

The four-tailed form tilted its head at the sand demon and chuckled.

"Oh? It seems you're capable of speech after all," it said. "Too bad you didn't say so earlier."

In a flash, the four-tails was on the sand demon's head. It drove its hand into the head and began to pull something out—the red haired teen—by the hair. The demon then cocked a fist back.

"Wakey, wakey."

The demon drove its fist hard into the teen's face.

Sand exploded in every direction.

* * *

"Madam President…?"

Tsunade didn't respond to the callings of one of her guards, but instead continued to stare bitterly down into the large hole. Things on the surface had gotten pretty quiet so she assumed that the siege had ended. Thanks to one of the visits of one of her former friends, the damage done to the base was most likely catastrophic. She suddenly, held her pistol out with the butt pointing toward the soldier near her.

"Go get me a damage assessment," she said, not looking at the soldier. "I want the number of casualties as well."

The soldier took the handgun and eyed the woman for a moment.

"Yes ma'am," he nodded and then ran off.

From there, Tsunade began to contemplate what her next move would be. Demons were kept under wraps. Word of this attack getting out wouldn't bode too well with the public. It wouldn't be hard to keep the press out of this, but it wouldn't hurt to have a cover story just in case.

"Danzou speaking…"

Tsunade pulled out from her thoughts when she heard the vice-president's voice. She looked back at him from the corner of her eye to see him speaking on a cell phone.

"Hello Mr. Morino."

Ibiki Morino.

Tsunade knew the man. He was the top interrogator within the organization. He didn't any instruments like torture devices, but instead relied on his knowledge of the human mind to peel other minds apart. He was also in charge of a portion of the self-defense force of ROOT.

"What is it?" Danzou asked.

He was then silent, awaiting a response from Ibiki.

"Oh, I am already aware of that," Danzou said. "What I'm curious about is why that I am now hearing about it."

Silence.

"I expected as much."

Silence. Danzou then grew grim.

"Hmm, I see," Danzou replied with a low voice. "I want you to mobilize everyone."

"Trouble at home?" Tsunade asked certain that he was finished.

"It seems that Seymour wasn't the only one to check out of our detention facility tonight."

Tsunade turned to face the man.

"He freed a few of his friends then?"

"I'm afraid that it's more than 'just a few'" Danzou replied.

"Then how many…?"

Tsunade trailed off upon seeing the grim expression that he was wearing. Her eyes widened in disbelief.

"…You don't mean…"

"Yes," Danzou answered solemnly. "All of them."

* * *

Gaara coughed as he tried lifting himself from the pile of sand.

How could this have happened? Never in his life had he ever encountered someone as strong as the blond haired man. He was clocked very hard, but the memories came rushing back.

That guy was a demon.

"Having trouble?"

Gaara looked up to see the blond haired teen approaching him with a grin.

"You were quite something," he said, drawing nearer. "Your power is really close to the real thing."

Gaara glared at the man.

"Unfortunately as a medium, you're only half-assed. Too bad," Naruto sneered.

His hand made a cracking noise as he flexed it, showing off his long nails.

"Don't worry. For being as entertaining as you were, I'll make it quick and painless."

It was then that the redhead's eyes widened. Was this the limit of his revenge? Was he really going to die here?"

Fear entered Gaara's eyes as he began scooting away from the blond.

"N-No! Stay away from me!" he yelled.

He got a chuckle from Naruto as a response. He showed no signs of stopping.

He was really going to die here!

"Get away from me!!" Gaara yelled again.

Naruto laughed in response as he quickened his steady pace.

Suddenly, a lone gunshot rang out. Naruto stopped.

Gaara watched in both amazement and disbelief as the blond fell backwards.

What just happened?

"It's time to go, Gaara," a low voice spoke from behind him.

* * *

_This should be fine._

Sakura sat the unconscious Shizune down against a building, or rather the part of the building that was still standing. She needed a break after running and dodging demons while hauling the woman around. Things seemed to quiet down after a while. She hadn't run into any more demons either.

She was quite worried about Naruto however. She didn't know what had happened to him after his battle with the sand psycho had escalated.

She wanted to go look for him, but felt that she couldn't leave Shizune alone the way she was. Should a demon rear its ugly face, she would be able to hide herself and the comatose woman. That was the plan until she heard groaning behind her.

Sakura turned around to see Shizune place a hand on her temple.

"Ugh, what happened?"

"A lot," Sakura answered, slightly startling the woman. "Are you okay?"

"I will be," Shizune answered.

Sakura smiled.

"That's good."

Well, Shizune seemed to be all right. If anything showed up, Shizune would be able to hide herself. She'd be able to do what she wanted to do for a while now.

"It looks like things quieted down," she said. "I'm going to go look for Naruto."

Shizune looked at her as if she had grown another head.

"Naruto?! But he's—"

"He was the one who saved us when that guy attacked us," Sakura interrupted. "I'm pretty sure that he's still around."

Shizune seemed to relax a little.

"Oh, alright."

"I promise, I'll be right back," Sakura assured her.

* * *

Sakura looked around, awed by the destruction that was caused. Buildings were either not all there or leveled into parking lots. Bodies of both monsters and mangled soldiers lied strewn about all over. It was like the aftermath of a battle during a war.

Sakura felt like throwing up. She suppressed the feeling and continued on.

Initially, she wanted to call out Naruto's name to see if he would respond. She refrained from doing so when she thought about the possibility of demons still roaming around. However, she soon learned that she didn't need to.

She first noticed a patch of blond near a lot of sand. She recognized it instantly and ran towards the person whom it belonged to.

Sakura heart nearly stopped.

"Naruto…?"

He lied there on the ground unmoving with his eyes closed. Crimson liquid had trickled from his head down his face. She had feared the worse.

Her fears were confirmed when she felt a steady breeze after such a long time. Naruto's bangs parted—

-- Sakura found herself staring at a blood red hole centered in his forehead.

Right then, Sakura turned away and fell on her hands and knees. That feeling she had suppressed earlier came back in full force.

This time she gave in.

Her stomach lurched and its contents came pouring out onto the asphalt.

There was only so much amount of death that she could take.

Sakura then sat down, hugging her legs and looking at the blond. He appeared to be sleeping; his face so serene.

She had just lost a friend, even though she had only known him for a day. She lowered her head onto her legs.

* * *

Shizune watched Sakura from a distance.

Though she was a little ways away, the pink haired girl was still in her field of vision. Even from where she was, she could still see that Sakura was sitting down with her face in her legs. This told her one thing.

She had found Naruto.

"Sakura…"

That poor girl seemed unable to get a break. She had spent the entire day trying to stay alive. Ever since she was taken to on that expedition with Trent, her normal life was torn away from her. She'd probably made a few friends on that trip and they had most likely died.

Her life would never be the same.

Oddly enough however, she almost didn't notice the person standing in front of her. She looked to scrutinize the figure: female, black suit, blonde hair…

Shizune eyes widened as she shot up in an attentive stance.

"M-M-Madam President!?" she stammered.

"Shizune," the blonde haired woman answered calmly. "I hadn't thought that I'd find you nearby. I'm glad to see that you're not seriously injured."

Shizune relaxed a little and smiled sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her head.

"I feel the same way ma'am."

Shizune then watched curiously as Tsunade pulled out a small object, a cigar, and held it between her teeth.

"Where's Sakura?" she asked, fishing out a small pack of matches.

* * *

Sakura wished that she could cry for her newfound friends, but she found herself unable.

_Why is this happening to me?_ she wondered.

Well actually, she had come to the conclusion that she just had terrible luck. Everything had started happening ever since she heard that she was a descendant of a priestess from a few centuries ago.

She wished that she hadn't.

She wished that she didn't go on that journey.

She really wanted to leave this hell and just go home to her normal life.

_Your wish is my command…_

His words echoed through her mind. She had been enticed by his words that she had actually believed him.

Now she felt foolish.

"…Ugh, my head."

Sakura's eyes widened at the sound of the voice.

_Could it be…?_

She looked back to see the blond sitting up and clutching his head. She stared in shock.

The blood trickling down his face had disappeared along with the wound in his forehead.

Had she imagined it?

At the moment, she didn't care.

Sakura turned around and through her arms around him. His eyes widened and he blinked in confusion.

"Sakura…?"

She was just glad to see that he was alive. Unknown to her, Naruto raised his hand towards his face and stared at a small bullet round before flicking it away.

* * *

"So that's how it is," Shizune said, eyeing the pair.

"Yeah," Tsunade replied. "That guy can't die by conventional means."

She and Tsunade had watched the scene unfold and it had touched them in some way. However, Shizune's mind had left the pair and onto Tsunade.

Normally, Tsunade rarely smoked. When she did, it was when something was seriously bothering her.

It was normally because of some dire circumstance.

"Madam President?"

Tsunade turned towards the dark haired woman upon seeing the serious expression on her face.

"Yes, what is it?" Tsunade asked.

"Is there something that I should be aware of?"

The blonde woman was silent for a moment. She then pulled the cigar from her mouth and sighed, exhaling a small cloud of smoke.

"Danzou just informed me that Seymour freed every prisoner from ROOT's detention center this evening," Tsunade deadpanned. "He was also responsible for the assault on this base."

Shizune held a contemplative look on her face, somewhat confused.

"Ah, that's right. This was before your arrival, so only know of him by his other name."

"His other name?" Shizune asked.

"Orochimaru…"

It was then that Shizune's eyes widened in shock.

"Orochimaru of the massacre twenty years ago…? That Orochimaru…?!"

"That's the one," Tsunade answered nonchalantly. "And because of him, five hundred criminals are now loose within the city."

Shizune's eyes narrowed as she looked towards the ground.

"He's certainly made a mess of things, hasn't he?" she said.

"Always does," woman president concurred.

And neither could KONOHA or ROOT could do anything. Orochimaru had managed to cripple both in one night for the time being. Tsunade furrowed her brows at the thought of a mad man running free for another night. He was such a charismatic man so it wouldn't take him long to gain some power if left alone. The police were no match for this man. She just wished that she could have KONOHA search the entire city.

But that wasn't all.

Tsunade sent a contemplative look towards Naruto and Sakura.

"What's going to happen to them?" Shizune asked, voicing Tsunade's thoughts.

She said nothing, but continued watching the pair. She wanted to send Sakura home and keep Naruto here. Now it wasn't possible so some tweaks in her plan was necessary.

"Sakura's going home," Tsunade answered bluntly.

"And the demon king…?"

Tsunade tossed her cigar.

"I've got plans for him.

* * *

**ROOT FILES**

**FILE #037**

**NAME: **Tsunade Senju

**GENDER:** Female

**AGE:** UNKNOWN

The current president of the Fire Country and current director of the top secret division KONOHA. . Formally a demon hunter within KONOHA along with Jiraiya and Seymour aka. Orochimaru. Tsunade is a woman full of mysteriousness and upholds the appearance of being aloof and in some cases seemingly drunk. However, she should not be underestimate under any circumstances. If she finds out some of the Foundation's projects she won't hesitate to shut us down. Then again, there is a chance that she already has and is only letting us stay active for the time being. She is the biggest threat to our organization and should be dealt with quickly and accordingly.

**RISK RANK:** A+


	15. Chapter 15

**Hello everyone, it's certainly been awhile. Reason being that I had been busy with a lot lately, including moving to another house. Note, if it takes more than two weeks to move, then it's a sign that some things must be gotten rid of. Well anyway, I've managed to finish another chapter and get my writing buzz back. After my hiatus, I'm a little afraid that I may be a little rusty at this. I hope you'll enjoy this latest installment.

* * *

**

**# 15**

* * *

Orochimaru curved his lips into an amused smile as he watched survivors of the siege beginning to appear from the passenger seat window of a black sedan that Gaara had borrowed. They filed out from their respective hiding places as ants did when their colony was destroyed.

It was fun while it lasted. He got to see the director and his old friend Tsunade Senju again. He wasn't too surprised to see Gaara defeated by the demon king, even if he was a little depowered.

_Speaking of which…_

Orochimaru looked over at Gaara to see him concentrating on the road as he cautiously drove them both out of the vicinity of KONOHA. It was a little troubling that Gaara was unable to channel with the demon within him for the time being, but at least it was worth it.

"Will you please hand me your mobile?" Orochimaru suddenly asked.

The redhead kept his eyes forward as he reached into the left chest pocket and fished out a small red cell phone and handed it to the sorcerer. Orochimaru took it and began dialing before placing the phone over his ear.

It rung a few times…

Finally, it picked up.

"Dr. Yakushi…"

"Good evening, doctor," Orochimaru answered with a smile.

"Good evening," the doctor replied curtly. "I must say, you work rather quickly."

The sorcerer chuckled.

"You were watching?"

"Oh, yes. I had to see the demon king's power for myself. Even if he wasn't at full power, it was still rather impressive. It's no wonder that you and Trent spoke so highly of him."

"How is Trent by the way?" Orochimaru asked. "If KONOHA's after him, then he must be in hiding."

"I had just spoken to him recently," Dr. Yakushi answered. "From the sound of his voice he seems to be doing quite well. He had some very interesting information for me."

"Oh?" Orochimaru perked up with interest.

"It appears that a certain demon slayer has come to our city; from the Uchiha clan."

Orochimaru smiled.

"Really?" He asked feinting surprise. "And why would he come to a place like this?"

"Perhaps it's because he had gotten wind of a certain demon king's arrival."

The sorcerer chuckled.

_Trent Vincent, you do love to make things interesting, _he mused.

"We should arrange a meeting," Orochimaru said suddenly.

"Wha?" Dr. Yakushi sounded a bit surprised.

"I want to see prince Uchiha meet the current king of demons," Orochimaru answered simply.

"I see," the doctor replied.

He sounded as if he were entertained by the idea. Orochimaru could have sworn that the man was smiling on the other side of the phone.

"I'll see what I can do."

* * *

"Hello…?"

"Ino?"

"Sakura? Hey what's up? Did you have fun on your trip?"

"…sure."

"…so it was pretty boring, huh?"

"No, it was actually…interesting."

"Interesting…?"

"Yeah."

"...Right. So when are you coming home?"

"In a few minutes actually. I was just callin' to let you know that I was on the way."

"Okay. See you in a few."

"See ya."

_Click._

Sakura sighed as she closed the cell phone. Finally, she was going home. She was going to get back to her normal life as much as possible. Before they sent her off, they had her swear to keep the entire incident a secret. Sure she could keep her mouth shut, but she was certain that she would not be forgetting the incident anytime soon.

Currently, she was riding in Shizune's car with the secretary and Kakashi. The silver haired man looked back at her. Sure, it wasn't as luxurious as Trent's limousine, but it didn't matter.

"Is Ino your sister or something?" he asked.

Sakura shook her head.

"Ino's my friend."

"I thought you were calling your parents."

"I don't have parents," Sakura replied softly. "I'm an orphan."

"I see," Kakashi said, sounding ashamed. "Sorry."

The pink haired girl smiled.

"It's okay."

"Are you staying with any relatives?" Shizune asked, keeping her eyes on the road.

"No."

"Don't tell me that you live alone," Kakashi said in disbelief.

"Not exactly," Sakura answered. "I live in an apartment complex with Ino living next to me. Her dad kinda looks after me."

"Inoichi Yamanaka…"

Sakura perked up, staring incredulously at Shizune.

"You know him?"

"Not really," Shizune replied. "I've met him once, I think. When you said 'Ino', the name just popped up."

"That's not good," Kakashi sighed. "He'll probably recognize you."

"Oh well," Shizune smiled.

* * *

"You wanna run that by me again?"

Tsunade smirked.

she answered coolly. "I'm certain that you've got what I said the first time."

Naruto smirked. This 'president' as everyone addressed her had a more amusing personality than the man who called himself 'vice-president'.

He was a little surprised when she had just told him that she was turning him loose, but the conditions puzzled him.

"What makes you think that I would carry out a request like that?" he asked.

"She looks like her doesn't she?"

Naruto frowned.

"That girl Sakura," Tsunade egged on. "She looks like that woman doesn't she?"

Naruto chuckled. This woman turned out to be more devious than he had thought.

"This task of yours will grant me freedom in exchange?"

"That's correct." The president replied.

"......I refuse."

Tsunade looked at Naruto as if she had misheard.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You heard me the first time," Naruto replied coolly. "I'm not going to do it."

Tsunade's eyes closed as she sighed.

"I see."

"It's not like you can keep me here anyway," Naruto added. "I'd break out of your prisons anytime I want."

Tsunade frowned at that. He wasn't lying when he said that he could break out whenever he wanted. But still, she at least had to try to make her request sound somewhat appealing to him.

"Aren't you interested in seeing Sakura again?" she asked.

Naruto stared at her for a moment without uttering a word. Soon, he turned away from her.

"No..."

The president tried hard to hide defeat from her expression.

"My debt with that girl is repaid," Naruto said, sounding indifferent. "I no longer have any business with her."

With that he turned around and walked past Tsunade.

Without sparing the young man a glance, Tsunade prepped another cigar.

"damn..."

* * *

"And now to see what this new world has to offer me."

Naruto grinned as he trekked past all of the debris and heavily damaged buildings. His contract with Sakura was complete and he was now free to do as he pleased. A part of him would miss her, but he would get over it.

He noticed surviving devil hunters scattered about all over the grounds either digging through the rubble for more survivors or killing off any demons still roaming around. None of them seemed to pay him any mind. He chuckled as he continued on--

--then stopped at the sound of a deep croak.

Naruto looked down to see an unusually large orange toad staring up back at him.

_What the hell?_

There were no swamps on this military base or near it. From the looks of things, it seemed like he was the only one who noticed it.

The toad croaked once more before turning around and hopping away. It stopped merely a few feet away from him and looked back at him and croaked again.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the toad for a moment, somewhat confused. It seemed as though it wanted him to follow it which made Naruto grin.

It reeked of demon.

Naruto chuckled.

"At least I won't be bored for a while."

* * *

Naruto followed the toad to a dilapidated warehouse. The severe damage was no doubt from the battle with the giant sand demon, probably the building that he fell onto. The inside and it's numerous floors had been caved in and were sitting in the many large piles of rubble around him and the roof of the warehouse was completely missing. Overall, the ruins looked similar to that of an ancient arena. The toad he had been following no longer seemed interested in him anymore and continued hopping ahead. It stopped in front of some object jutting out of the ground so the approached it for a closer look. His eyes widened the moment he was able to identify the object.

_This…This is…_

Suddenly, a loud cackling filled the air.

"Yes!" the voice boomed. "Your eyes are not deceiving you! What you see before you is real!"

Naruto whirled around, searching for the source of the voice.

"A sword fit only for the king of hell...."

Something moved from behind. Naruto turned around--

--and was impaled by the broadsword that was once impaled into the floor. The force of the movement knocked him off his feet and pinned him on the ground.

"...Hellfire!"

The air was filled with more laughter as Naruto lied motionlessly on the ground.

"You're not actually dead, are you?" the voice asked. "I guess you're not truly the king of demons after all."

Just then, Naruto twitched. The air was deathly silent as Naruto's body began to rise from the ground, driving the sword deeper into his chest. His blood covered the sword as he rose. The hilt soon disappeared into his chest and Naruto was on his feet once again, leaving the sword still embedded in the ground. The blond grabbed the sword behind him and brought it downward from over his head.

The wall in front of him was suddenly split open by an unseen force. A fissure traced all the way back to the tip of his sword.

Eventually, the wall just collapsed, filling the air with a thick cloud.

Without batting an eye, Naruto then whirled around and pointed his sword at a figure that suddenly appeared behind him.

"You're responsible for this," he said.

"Ah, yes your majesty I am," the figure replied. He sounded startled from having a broadsword suddenly pointed at him.

"Your majesty?"

Naruto looked at him with an eyebrow raised. At first, he thought he was being mocked. However, he saw the form bowing sincerely in front of him. Now that Naruto got a good look at him, it was a man with unusually long white hair and was dressed in dark robes. He was just an ordinary man.

…or so it seemed.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked, not lowering the sword.

"The sage of the Demon Toad Clan," the man answered.

Naruto snorted.

"A human who has given up his humanity to serve demons," he said. "You're no different from sorcerers."

Naruto then lifted the blade and let it rest on his shoulders.

"What is a demon sage doing here?"

The man looked up at him with a grin. Already Naruto got the urge to skin the man and go on.

"I was watching your fight with the sand monster earlier," the sage answered. "To be honest, I wasn't impressed."

Naruto smirked.

"Oh really? Would you like to try your luck then?"

"Of course not," the sage replied, throwing his hand up in defense. "I'm just acting as a courier delivering that sword."

"Speaking of which…"

Naruto brought the sword down in front of him. The hilt of the blade was black. The grip jutted out from on top of a human skull, complete with a pair of demonic wings incased around the bottom of the blade.

"How did you get this?"

"It's within my abilities," the sage answered. "Don't underestimate me."

Naruto snorted in response.

"I'm surprised that you're not interested in that schoolgirl," the sage suddenly said. "If it were me, I'd love to eat her."

Just then Naruto turned and swung the sword at the demon, hitting nothing but air. The sage had disappeared.

"My, my, aren't we touchy?"

The sage's voice echoed from the air.

Naruto smirked as he shouldered the blade.

"Not at all," he answered. "I just merely grew tired of your mindless banter. I also wanted something to try my new sword out on."

Just then, the sage chuckled.

"Don't worry. you'll get the chance much sooner than you think."

Suddenly, the demonic presence disappeared.

Naruto felt that he was completely alone in the ruins. The sage's parting words were somewhat cryptic and he couldn't help thinking that pink haired girl was involved in some way. If she was, then things would get a lot more interesting in the future.

* * *

It had been minutes since Sakura and Shizune disappeared into the apartment complex. He stepped out of the car and leaned on it has he pulled out a cellphone from his chest pocket.

"It's me. We got Sakura home, safe and sound."

"I'm glad to hear that," replied the person on the other line.

"So what do you want our next move to be?" Kakashi asked, looking around.

Since Orochimaru had freed a bunch of criminals from the detention facility, he had to be a bit more careful.

He put some of those criminals away himself so it wouldn't be surprising if one were to seek him out in revenge.

"Watch over Sakura for now. We'll be out of commission for a while, so I'm a bit short on options."

"Well, that's weird," Kakashi sighed.

"What is?"

"You're prioritizing Sakura's protection," Kakashi explained. "Is there something I should be aware of?"

"No," the person replied. "At least, not right now, seeing how easily Orochimaru got in here. I'll tell you when the time is right. I don't want to risk any leaks."

"Understood," Kakashi replied dully. "What about the king of demons?"

"......he left."

Kakashi lowered his head and let out another sigh.

"I see."

The demon king's decision wasn't an unexpected one. He struck Kakashi as the type who'd go around doing whatever he pleases. KONOHA might not be able to stop him for the time being, but they would have to mobilize against him whether he liked it or not.

And he really didn't.

"I'll have Shizune arrange some accommodations for your mission."

And with that, the person on the other line hung up.

Kakashi pocketed his phone and was about to get back into the car. That is, until he noticed a figure down the street. As he narrowed his eye for a closer look, he noticed the figure was a man wearing a black jumpsuit.

An escaped convict.

"Ka...kashi...." he growled.

The ash blond commando watched with widened eyes as the man began to spasm and grow. Apparently, freeing the prisoners wasn't the only thing Orochimaru did to them.

"Oh hell."

Kakashi reached for his eye patch to remove it--

--when something blurred past him--a sedan.

It stopped abruptly upon hitting the convict. Kakashi had guessed at the speed it was going, the con wouldn't be alive right now...

...If he were still human.

It was at this point that Kakashi realized that it wasn't a sedan that hit the convict, but a limousine. Just then, someone stepped out the car. Kakashi could see that it was a young man wearing a long dark coat and carried a long sheathed Japanese sword. He stood calmly as the convict finished his transformation and then suddenly lunged at him.

Kakashi blinked. All he caught was a shimmer of light and the monster fell into multiple pieces before bursting into blue flames and disappearing. The young man then turned and approached Kakashi.

The commando lowered his hand, away from his eye-patch. Revealing his eye to this man wouldn't be the best of ideas.

"By the look on your face, I guess you know who I am," the young man said.

"Yes sir," the commando replied curtly. "I know who you are, your majesty."

The young man waved him off.

"No formalities please. I'd rather you spoke freely to me as you would anyone else."

Now that Kakashi had a good look of the man, he could see that he was no older than twenty at least; probably the same age as Sakura. His dark eyes and hair were telltale signs of his lineage.

The young man appeared to be sizing him up as well and pushed his circular glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"You're from KONOHA right?" the young man asked.

Kakashi wasn't surprised by the guess.

"That's right, I am."

"Then I would ask that you did not speak of my presence to anyone," the young man said. "You and I did not meet, understood?"

"Yeah," Kakashi answered. "Though if the situation changes, I'll have to let someone know that you're here."

"That's fine."

"I do have a question, if you don't mind answering it."

"Go ahead," the young man replied.

"What are you doing here exactly?" Kakashi asked.

The young man turned away from Kakashi.

"I'm here because of the existence of a powerful monster," he said. "I am a devil hunter after all."

The young man then started for his limo where his driver waited. Kakashi watched as the driver opened the back door and the man get inside.

_This monster that he mentioned..._the commando mused. _Don't tell me it's...!_

It would be very troublesome if those two were to meet. Even if he was powerful, if anything happened to him, the DA treaty would be put on an indefinitely hold. Kakashi didn't like breaking promises, especially right after just making them, but there was no choice. He ran a hand through his hair before looking up into the night sky.

This was probably the most stressful night he ever had.

"Well, better call the president."


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey, it's been a while. Finally, an update with more coming. the loss of my computer and of my data stick along with other writings not only caused a huge delay in updates but also the longest case of writer's block that I ever had. I've been regaining my losses, slowly and surely. For now, enjoy this latest installment.

* * *

**

**# 16**

* * *

Sakura had never slept as well as she had last night.

It wasn't unusual to think that after the ordeal from the day before, any normal person would be hysterical have nightmares for the rest of their lives.

Not her though.

She slept like a baby.

If she could, she probably would have slept for the whole day.

Unfortunately, she had school to go to.

Yes, even though she had spent yesterday dodging death by a hair, she still had to go to school. It was for the best since she had sworn to secrecy about yesterday's events. Going to school would make it look like everything was normal.

After finishing her morning ritual and putting on her school uniform, she stepped outside of her apartment and went downstairs to meet up with Ino. She just so happened to have caught the blonde as she was stepping out of her apartment.

"Sakura?" Ino uttered, surprised to see the pink-haired girl. "You actually got yourself up this time."

Sakura frowned at the remark.

"Good morning to you too."

Ino giggled.

"Aw, don't be like that," she said, waving her off. "I'm only teasing you."

Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Anyways, there's a new tenant moving in today," Ino said. "Dad wants us to get the apartment ready."

Sakura stared at her friend, surprised by the news. They were getting a new neighbor?

"When did you find this out?" the rosette asked.

"Just this morning," Ino answered. "If we start now, we'll have enough time to eat breakfast."

"Yeah, all right. What's the apartment number?"

"314."

Sakura's eyes went wide.

_But I just came from upstairs _she mentally whined.

"I know, I know," Ino said as if reading her mind. "I was coming upstairs to tell you."

"Oh well," Sakura sighed, shrugging. "Let's go ahead and get this over with."

"Cleaning supplies are already in the room," Ino said, already starting up the stairs.

Sakura started up the stairs after her, but then stopped halfway. She looked over the railing off the second floor, out towards the neighboring buildings and her thoughts drifted towards yesterday's events. It all seemed like a bad dream and she could hardly believe it all happened. Now she was finally returned to her normal life.

However, something told her that it was only the beginning.

"Hey Forehead, what're you doing?"

Sakura grimaced at her friend's call. She hated it when Ino called her that.

"I'm coming," she huffed.

* * *

Things were quiet down at a psychotherapist office downtown. Kabuto had rescheduled all of his appointments in order to meet with a very important guest. Though the arrangements were in fact last minute, his guest had accepted his invitation and was now on his way down.

As Kabuto stepped outside of the office building, a black sedan and stopped in front of the edifice. A black SUV stopped behind it. Two men in black suits and ties stepped out of the SUV. Their eyes were obscured by sunglasses.

These men were merely the grunts; no one Kabuto wanted to talk to. They were the sentinels that were assigned to his guest.

One of the men then jogged over the sedan and opened the back door as a young man stepped out. He was a pale young man with jet black hair, dressed in nothing but dark blue attire consisting of a long leather coat and long boots. The glare on his circular glasses hid his eyes. Kabuto smiled, noticing the attention that the man was attracting; more notably from some of the women nearby. For someone trying to keep his presence here a secret, it didn't look as if he was trying very hard.

"I'm so glad that you made it," Kabuto greeted. "Let me be the first to welcome you here in our country."

"There's no need for a formal greeting," the young man replied. "I can't be long I'm afraid."

"I understand, sir," Kabuto said, bowing slightly.

"There is no need for formalities either."

Kabuto stood upright, a smirk dominating his features.

"Very well. Let us speak inside…"

The young man shifted and the glare on his glasses disappeared, revealing an expressionless pair of dark eyes.

The two men in black began to move toward the building, but the young man stopped them.

"You stay here," he said without sparing them a glance.

"Yes sir," one of the bodyguards answered. "We'll await your return."

* * *

Sakura took a deep breath as she walked down the hallway of the school building. It felt good being there, back in her ordinary life. So good that she was unable to suppress the smile that appeared on her face; a smile that her friend Ino couldn't help but notice.

"You're in an awfully good mood," Ino quipped. "What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"

Sakura looked at the blonde, not even trying to hide her grin.

"Just happy to be here," she said which earned her a weird look from Ino.

It wasn't long before the two of them reached their classroom, which was in a total uproar. This was a normal thing, the students always socialized while in homeroom. However, it seemed different this time around. The students were never this chaotic.

Sakura went to her seat, not even paying any attention to the noise. Ino on the other hand, approached a group of students chattering away without a care in the world. They seemed very excited about something.

"Hey Kiba," Ino called.

One of the teens, a boy looked back at Ino. He had short wild brown hair and his eyes were small and black, almost appearing as slits.

"Yeah, what is it?" the teen known as Kiba asked.

"What's all the excitement about?" Ino asked.

Kiba looked at her, somewhat surprised.

"Oh, so you didn't hear about it yet," he said.

"Hear about what?" the blonde haired girl asked, sounding more impatient.

"A new guy's coming today," Kiba answered.

Ino was taken aback by the news.

"This late in the semester?" she asked.

"Weird right?" Kiba replied. "Everyone's talking about it."

"Yeah…"

Ino turned around towards where her pink haired friend was sitting.

"Hey Sakur—uh…"

She trailed off upon seeing the dreamy look on her pink haired friend's face.

"Hey Ino," she said. "Isn't it a beautiful day?"

Ino didn't respond. She was at loss for words. Kiba however…

"What the…? Is she high?" he asked Ino.

The blonde shrugged.

* * *

Kabuto entered his office with his visitor following. He sat down on a couch and gestured for his guest to take a seat at the other couch across from him, separated only by a rectangular coffee table.

"So how is it that you were able to contact me?" the guest asked, sitting down.

Kabuto chuckled.

"You get straight to the point don't you?"

The raven haired man remained expressionless.

"You know who I am. You know that I am a busy man."

"Indeed," Kabuto replied.

"Who are you, really?" the young man asked.

Kabuto sat back in the couch in a relaxed position.

"…..I am an information broker," he said.

"An information broker?"

"Yes. And as such, I am required to know all sorts of information. I am privy to what others aren't."

It was then that his guest narrowed his eyes.

"Like demon related information for example...?"

Kabuto chuckled darkly.

"Yes, that is correct." he answered. "And I have a bit of information for you which is why I have called you here."

"How much?" the visitor quipped.

"That isn't necessary," Kabuto replied. "Consider it my gift to welcome you into this country."

The young man said nothing. Kabuto took that as a hint to get down to business.

"Now you were probably wondering what I meant in my message about the appearance of a monster."

"Perhaps."

The visitor appeared to be losing interest.

"I assure you, this monster isn't what you'd consider a small fry," Kabuto said. "This demon is truly a monster. Not even KONOHA can handle."

This seemed to have caught his guest by surprise.

"You even know of KONOHA?"

"I told you. I am privy to information that others aren't."

"You're playing a dangerous game."

Kabuto chuckled.

"Anyway, this monster appeared only a few days ago," he said. "He has taken the likeness of a human being."

"A popular trend amongst demons these days," the young man replied.

* * *

"Alright, Alright, take your seats," the instructor announced as he entered the classroom.

"Well, it looks like he's about to make his big debut," Kiba whispered to Ino. "We'll talk later."

"Yeah," she replied as she took her seat next to Sakura.

She eyed her friend worryingly before looking towards the front.

The instructor waited a few more seconds for the students to get seated before he began.

"I'm sure that you've probably already heard that today a new student will be joining us today."

Instantly, the class burst into a series of whispers.

"Hey, quiet down!" the instructor said, sounding slightly irritated. "I know it seems a little strange but there has been some circumstances which is why he'll be joining us for the remainder of the semester."

He looked towards the door.

"You can come in now."

The class was silent as they watched the transfer student enter the classroom. Sakura's eyes widened.

* * *

Kabuto handed a photo to the young man.

"This is its current form?" he asked.

"Yes," the pale haired man answered. "He is a bit of a crafty one."

"What makes you say that?"

"It seems that he had discovered the person who took this photo and vanished. He must have caught onto me since I haven't been able to track him down since that photo was taken."

"What makes you think that he's still in this city?" the visitor asked.

"This," Kabuto replied, handing him another photo.

"A high school student?"

"Yes," Kabuto replied. "The demon appears to have made contact with this girl. Finding her made provide a clue to his whereabouts."

"But why her?" the visitor asked.

Kabuto shrugged.

"That eludes even me, but I may have an idea."

The young man looked up at him, waiting for him to continue.

"That girl is the descendant of a priestess who lived a few centuries ago."

"Is he targeting her?"

"I believe so," Kabuto answered. "But I can't exactly say why."

"I see."

"So...are you going after him?"

"Of course."

Kabuto then watched as the young man stood up and pocket the photos.

"Thank-you for the information," he said, bowing curtly.

He turned to leave, but stopped once he got to the door.

"One other thing..."

Kabuto perked up.

"Yes?"

The young man turned to him.

"What is the alias that the demon is using for his current form?"

The ash-haired blond chuckled.

"Ah, yes. If you encounter the girl, ask her about it. Ask her about..."

* * *

Sakura stared in shock at the new transfer student. The student was a boy her age with wild blond hair. He was wearing the uniform for the current term; a red sweater vest over a white dress shirt with red and black plaid pants. The shirt was left un-tucked and his sleeves were rolled up. It sort of made him seem like a delinquent. However the instructor didn't call him out on it.

"Well, introduce yourself," he urged instead.

The boy grinned.

"Hi, my name is Naruto Uzumaki."

* * *

"So, that boy is with you?"

Tsunade smiled wryly as she stirred her tea.

"Yes," she answered.

The president had arranged a secret meeting with the headmaster of the school that Sakura went to. Normally, affairs of KONOHA were top secret as well as the existence of demons. However, this case was different.

"Demons aren't going to appear and attack my students are they?" the headmaster inquired.

"With recent happenings, I'm hoping that wont' happen," she answered honestly. "Should it however, my agent in there will take care of it and make sure that no one is hurt."

Truthfully, that's what she was hoping the demon king would do. She had no idea what made him change his mind about her request. He was a wild card and she had nothing to keep him in line with should things go awry. With the organization in the state it was, she didn't have much choice.

"I'll take your word for it then," the man answered. "So, could you tell me what else is bothering you?"

Tsunade, who was sipping her tea, nearly spilled it all over herself, surprised by his sudden inquiry. The headmaster chuckled.

"What is it?" he asked. "You didn't really think that I would miss the faint cigar smell did you? You only smoke when there is something seriously worrying you."

The president paused for a moment. He did really know her well. She sighed in resignation.

"Seymour's escaped from prison," she said.

"Seymour Hajiki eh?" the old man sounded amused. "There's a name that I haven't heard in a while."

"There's a chance that he'll come after you," Tsunade said sternly. "That's why I wish to put you into protective custody of—"

"That won't be necessary."

The blonde haired woman's eyes widened.

"But—"

"I will not leave my students."

Tsunade stared long and hard at the principal for a moment. His tone left no room for argument. Defeated, she smiled.

"I see," she said.

The old man chuckled.

"You must think I'm going senile."

The president shook her head.

"No. I've always liked that about you. I can see why you left KONOHA."

"I'm glad you understand."

Suddenly, Tsunade's cell phone sounded. She pulled it out of her pocket.

"Excuse me."

She frowned after seeing who it was.

_You've got wonderful timing Shizune, _she mused. "Yes, what is it?"

"The Uchiha prince is in town," the woman on the line said.

_What the-!_

Though mildly surprised at the news, Tsunade kept her face even. She didn't want to let the headmaster on to what was going on.

"We'll talk more in the car," she said, then hung up.

"Problems at work?"

Tsunade chuckled.

"You can say that," she said. "Organizations can't be without their directors for too long I guess."

"I know the feeling," the old man said. "It was good to see you, Tsunade."

The blonde haired woman smiled warmly.

"It is good to see you too...master," she said, then turned to leave.

The old man watched as she let herself out of his office. He began to think how Tsunade had grown over the years, but there was something still bothering him.

She still looked the same as she did thirty years ago. Either that, or time had been very kind to her.

_Tsunade, why do you look so young? _he wondered. _Could it have something to do with that incident with Jiraiya?

* * *

_

Tsunade quickly left the administrative building without raising much attention. It turned out that she stood out less without her bodyguards following her around. With a fedora on her head, it oddly enough made her less recognizable. Soon, a black sedan came into view, with Shizune standing outside. The young woman quickly approached the president and walked with her toward the black sedan.

"Who made the report?" Tsunade asked before Shizune opened her mouth.

"It was Kakashi," she answered, opening the sedan door. "Unfortunately, he was discovered and the prince disappeared. Right now, Kakashi is assembling search team and will dispatch in an hour."

Tsunade eyed Shizune for a moment before stepping into the vehicle. So far, things were growing even more chaotic which to her was no doubt Seymour's trademark. She had a pretty good guess why the prince had suddenly entered the city without anyone's knowledge. With KONOHA crippled, there was only one other option. She waited for Shizune to enter the sedan.

"Contact Danzou and have ROOT assist in tracking down the prince."

His private military force was no doubt busy trying to track down the inmates that Seymour had broken out. However, she was certain that if she mentioned the risk of an international incident, then Danzou would be very understanding.

* * *

Kabuto was now alone. The prince had left his office merely a few moments ago, most likely to pursue this demon that he had told him about. However, he had knowingly omitted some details about his mark.

"You are a particularly cruel man."

Kabuto jumped up and whirled around towards the direction of the voice and stared in mild surprise.

A head was sticking out of his wall.

Long black hair cascaded over the face, almost hiding the pale skin. Kabuto flinched as it looked up at him with piercing gold eyes and grinned.

"Hello, Kabuto."

The ash blond man regained his composure.

"I hate it when you do that," he said. "I see that you've regained your original form."

The head chuckled and a form began peeling itself from the wall. The head was revealed to be attached to the body of a man wearing a long dark coat over a black vest and slacks, complete with a navy collared shirt and white tie.

"Yes," the man replied. "It isn't very fashionable to continue wandering in bandages you know."

"Ah, of course," Kabuto smirked. "So, to what do I owe the pleasure, lord Orochimaru?"

"Was that the young prince?" the man asked.

He strolled over to the couch in front of the ash blond haired man.

"Yes," Kabuto answered. "So, what'd you think of him?"

Orochimaru grinned.

"I think KONOHA will have their hands full with him," he answered. "They must be frantically, looking for him by now. They're certain that he's out to find the demon king."

"So, what now?"

It was a question that Kabuto had found himself asking aloud. For as long as he had known this man, he knew that he never really planned anything out, but merely spontaneously did things. It was his spontaneity that always brought chaos which is why he was feared.

Orochimaru smirked.

"Well," he began. "One of my subordinates is quite doubtful of the prince….or should I say two?"

Kabuto raised an eyebrow at the man as he chuckled.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"They doubt the prince's abilities and wish to test him."

"And you let…them?"

"Why not?" Orochimaru sneered. "It's his own fault if he gets killed. Besides, the party will go on without him."

"Party…?"

"This city has grown too used to the peace that their government has made for them," Orochimaru said. "I believe it is time to remind them of what it's like to be afraid."

"Afraid?"

Kabuto narrowed his eyes.

"Just what are you after?"

Orochimaru grinned maniacally at him.

* * *

"Is there something bothering you sir?"

The jet haired prince pulled out of his musings and looked up at his driver.

"No," he replied, returning his gaze out towards his window.

It had been only twenty minutes since he left that psychotherapist's office. It was almost disturbing to find that he knew so much about the demons. The amount of information that the man had, was even more unsettling. However, he wasn't in the least bit surprised. This city's always been that way. There was always someone here, with the exact information that anyone wanted, even him, but for the right price.

However, he wasn't anyone.

It was strange that the information broker would call him and inform him about a powerful demon, and not charge him for it. Though he didn't have enough evidence, he had a feeling that he was being used.

Which is why he had the man promptly investigated right after leaving. He also had his subordinates look into the whereabouts of the demon.

_Naruto Uzumaki…_

The name sounded familiar to him. Perhaps he had heard it before?

He wouldn't get to stay on those thoughts for long.

The sedan slowed to a stop.

"What's going on?"

"Uh…there's a man…" his driver replied.

The young man stepped out of the car. Sure enough, there was a young man standing in the middle of the street in front of him.

That's when he realized it.

There was no traffic on the street he was on. There weren't any pedestrians either. He turned towards the man obstructing the road.

There wasn't anything too peculiar about him. He was dressed in a white suit and had short grey hair and hid his eyes behind a rectangular pair of sunglasses.

"Who are you?"

"No one important," the man replied. "We've just been dying to meet you."

"We?"

Suddenly, something moved from the corner of his eye. He turned to see an exact duplicate of the young man in front of the car suddenly crouch, holding a rocket launcher pointed in his direction and fired.

The rocket spiraled in his direction—

-and two separate cars exploded behind him, leaving him and his sedan untouched.

The man in front laughed.

"Oh wow, I heard you were fast, but man," he jeered.

"Just as one would expect from the great Sasuke Uchiha."

* * *

**Well, Since I'm back, I can't say that there will be sooner updates because I intend to make future chapters longer than they have been in the past. This goes for all of my posts. Well, that's all for now. Leave a review and tell me what you think. Till next time.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Well, here's the latest installment to King of Devils. Enjoy.**

**

* * *

#17

* * *

**

_Kabuto…._

That was the first name that came to mind as he scrutinized his two assailants. Kabuto was one of the few people who knew his existence in this country.

The assassins both wore white business suits. Their silver hair contrasted very little with their pale complexion. Their eyes were obscured by rectangular sunglasses.

"Twins," Sasuke muttered.

Attacks like this were one of the main reasons for him to travel in secret. However, contacting Kabuto seemed to ruin that for the time being.

It was also the reason why he _never _when anywhere without his long katana which he currently held at his side.

"Whoa, shit bro!" one of the twins yelled. "How'd he do that?"

"Sorcery huh?" the other sneered, pulling out two handguns from within his suit jacket.

Sasuke walked in front of the sedan and inched his sword from its sheath with his thumb. The assailant then ran toward him, unleashing a volley on the Uchiha. In response, Sasuke drew his blade and began twirling it in front of him. The air began to distort around his sword and the oncoming bullets disappeared into the distortion. Out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke noticed the other twin prepping his RPG again and the timing couldn't have been more perfect.

The twin in front of him ran out of bullets.

Sasuke turned and swung his sword, suddenly sending the bullets towards the twin carrying the rocket launcher. All the rounds found their mark in the twin, just as Sasuke spun and drove his sword into the other twin behind him.

Time appeared to stop as Sasuke felt the assailant go limp at the end of his blade.

_How unfortunate…_

He suddenly yanked out his sword and the assailant dropped to his knees just as his brother hit the ground. Finally he himself dropped face first into the asphalt next to the prince. Seeing that both threats were eliminated, Sasuke stood up and swung his sword in front of him to rid his blade of the assassin's blood before sheathing it.

"Man, you're a ruthless bastard."

Sasuke looked downward at his assailant and watched as he lifted himself from the ground.

"Hey lil' bro, you okay?" he asked.

Sasuke's eyes shifted towards the other twin who was now rising from the ground.

"Hm…yeah," he groaned. "Gettin' shot hurts more than I thought."

Sasuke eyed the other assailant who was now standing behind him.

"You should try gettin' stabbed," the elder twin retorted.

"So, you've surrendered your humanity," Sasuke said evenly as he sheathed his sword.

"And became something even more," the twin replied.

Sasuke turned, now fully facing the elder assailant as he took off his sunglasses and tossed them aside.

"Let's see how you deal with this."

Just then, his cold grey eyes suddenly turned golden with slits running through them. His irises were made more prominent as blackness flooded the white in his eyes.

His silver hair had grown longer and turned ghastly white as his skin turned blood red. A pair of horns protruded from his forehead.

One of the most prominent features of his transformation was his left arm.

It had taken a rather grotesque appearance, becoming larger and thicker and forming long sword-like claws on the hand. There was a long spike jutted upward from the left shoulder. It differentiated from the rest of his body with a deep gray hue. Sasuke glanced at the younger twin and saw that he had taken a similar appearance. In fact, their forms were identical. However, instead of the left arm, the right arm took on the grotesque form instead.

"So what do you think?"

His voice had a deep demonic toned mixed in with his regular human voice.

"I'm not impressed," Sasuke replied bluntly.

"Figures," the demon replied. "I didn't think a tough guy like you would freak out from something like this."

Just then, Sasuke noticed movement from his peripheral vision and leapt into the air.

The younger twin's monstrous arm narrowly missed him.

The Uchiha performed an aerial cartwheel over the creature. While still in the air upside down, Sasuke had his blade drawn and flying towards the monster's exposed back at the flick of a wrist —

-only to have it stopped short by the elder demon's arm.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

_It's like hitting a stone._

The elder demon swung his arm in attempt to backhand the demon slayer. Though it missed, its mere force was enough to send Sasuke flying. However, he shifted his body in the air, landing gracefully a few yards away and earning a growl from one of the demons.

"Is that it?" Sasuke asked. "It looks like the only thing that change was your appearance."

The elder demon chuckled.

"Don't get cocky you bastard," he said.

The demons then began darting towards the Uchiha in a zigzag formation, crossing each others' path as they advanced. Suddenly, they lunged at him.

"DIE!" one of them screamed.

Sasuke merely snorted and sheathed his sword.

* * *

_What's he doing here?_

It was something that Sakura had been wondering all morning. It was lunch time now and she hadn't gotten any answers. Every opportunity she took to ask had always been interrupted either through tests or her overly curious classmates. They had asked him questions like "Where do you come from?" or "Why did you transfer so late in the semester?" And he'd reply with "I was living out in the country" and "My dad got a job here in the city" and other things like that.

Of course, they were convenient lies. That much she knew.

She knew that he was in the government's custody or more specifically, KONOHA's custody. Even if he did save them from being completely destroyed, the president made it clear that they weren't so willing to let a demon into the world, especially if that demon is the king of demons.

"Hello? Earth to Sakura!"

Suddenly, the pink haired girl blinked and saw three girls sitting around her desk, staring at her with confused and concerned looks on their faces. She suddenly remembered that she was having lunch with two of her friends.

"Oh, sorry."

She scratched her head as she smiled sheepishly.

"Hey Sakura, are you okay?"

It was her friend sitting to her right, Tenten who had asked.

"You've been spacing out all morning."

"More like spacing out since Naruto Uzumaki came here," Ino sneered. She was sitting on a desk across from her.

Sakura's eyes narrowed at her.

"I just have a lot on my mind," she said, knowing what she was implying.

"Really?" Ino feigned surprise. "Earlier this morning, you were all sunshine and rainbows until he came along. Tell me something; is there REALLY a lot on your mind or just a lot of Naruto on your mind?"

"Oh, hardy har har."

Ino chuckled at the retort, not minding Sakura glaring at her. Fortunately, the blonde decided that she had been teasing her enough for one day.

"Well, it's been fun."

She got off the desk and brushed her skirt, straightening it out.

"I've got a test in my next class so I'll see you girls later."

"It's about time I left too," Tenten said next. "Lunchtime's about over so I'll see you later."

Sakura waved at her friends as they left. Now that she was alone, she looked behind her again to see the small group of students around Naruto beginning to dissolve since classes would be starting again soon. She began formulating a plan on how to isolate Naruto from everyone else.

She would get some answers.

* * *

The assassin slammed face first on the asphalt. He had reverted back into his human form from the blow he has just received. He quickly rolled over to see the prince's long sword embedded in the mangled corpse of his older brother. He watched in horror as Sasuke plucked his sword from the corpse and casually began walking towards him. Tears began forming in his eyes as he began crawling away in retreat. Unfortunately, Sasuke was already standing over him and flipped him over with his foot. Sasuke pulled off his glasses and pocketed them. The floored assailant groaned in response.

"What the fuck are you?"

Suddenly, Sasuke's hand wrapped around his throat and he was hoisted into the air.

"Just a figment of your imagination," he replied.

Soon the fear in the assassin's eyes vanished and was replaced with a vacant stare. "Where's the demon king hiding?" Sasuke then asked.

"The girl would know…"

Sasuke's eyes widened slightly.

"Maybe you can ask her when you see her," the assassin answered.

"How do you know about the girl? Did Kabuto tell you?"

At this, the assassin began chuckling, despite his hypnotic state. Suddenly, he burst into violet flames, causing Sasuke to instantly drop him. Instead of screaming in agony, the air was soon filled with his maniacal laughter. Sasuke watched in disgust as the assailant's form disappeared and the flames dispersed.

"Sir, are you alright?"

Sasuke turned to see his driver standing outside of the sedan totally unharmed. The car contrasted sharply from the rest of the scene, appearing totally untouched.

"I'm fine," Sasuke answered, approaching the car. "Have someone bring me Dr. Kabuto Yakushi."

He wanted to have a few words with him.

* * *

_Tch, those assholes._

Unknown to Sasuke, there had been a spectator watching the fight. The woman wasn't exactly thrilled with what she had witnessed. She had gone through the trouble of preparing the spell that isolated them from the rest of the world and he went and gotten himself killed.

_It so easily…_

To say Sasuke Uchiha was strong would be an understatement. Not only was he strong, but he seemed to be quite ruthless. He didn't even give them the chance to beg for their lives. Without batting an eye, he killed one of them and probably would have killed the younger twin had she not activated the suicide spell for him.

Lord Orochimaru did say that this would happen.

The woman watched as the sedan began to leave the scene and she herself started to leave as well. Now that the spell was broken, people would begin to take notice of the scene and the authorities would be swarming the place. It was time to move on to the first phase of the plan.

* * *

In the downtown area, it was lunchtime at the popular fast food restaurant BurgerTown. Normally, things would be frantic as there were numerous customers waiting for their orders. In actuality, they would be waiting for their orders if they weren't frozen in shock at the spectacle that was happening at the table.

There was a rather large man in leather biker clothing, wolfing down burgers at a ridiculous rate. This horrified the employees rather than mystified them as it did the customers. At this rate, they would most likely have to close down.

"Why am I not surprised?"

The large man looked up to see a slender woman standing in front his table with a hand on her hip. No one knew when she got there probably because the large man was quite the spectacle. The woman had long red hair which was covered by a bright light green knit hat. She wore a dark pink turtleneck with a matching pair of boots. Her skirt matched the color of her hat.

Despite her feminine attire, her personality seemed to be the exact opposite.

"Stuffing your face as usual, eh lard-o?" she sneered.

"Being the rude bitch as usual?" the large man retorted.

"Sakon and Ukon are dead."

The large man stopped eating.

"Never liked them anyway," he simply replied. "Sakon shouldn't have been so eager to challenge the prince."

"Yeah he was a dumbass for trying," the woman replied. "His brother was stupid too for going along with him."

"So what brings you here anyway?"

The large man was clearly annoyed by her presence. He wanted her to go away as soon as possible. The girl shrugged.

"I just came to tell you that it's time to move."

The man's eyes widened

"Bon appetite," she said.

The large man sat there frozen, gaping while watching the woman exit the restaurant. He remained motionless even after the woman had left. A mere moment went by before a dark grin appeared on his face.

"Finally…" he began to shake as he spoke. "…I can move on from these appetizers and onto the main course."

At first he started to chuckle. Soon, the chuckle erupted into a hearty laugh.

Every patron who was in the restaurant including the workers there was now staring at him. His laughter soon died down. Grinning, he turned his attention toward the onlookers, who then flinched at his gaze.

"Now…Let's eat."

* * *

**Sorry, but no Naru/Saku developments in this chapter. Just wanted to get the story moving first.**


	18. Chapter 18

**At long friggin last, I finally finished another installment of King of Devils. Sorry for the long unannounced hiatus, but as with all authors, I had to deal with a lot of life changes. Some of those changes inspired me to start creating some original works. But mostly, I dealt with some challenges that seemed to suck all the creativity out of me.**

**Fortunately, I still have some left.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**#18**

* * *

"Ugh, I give up."

Sakura sighed as she dragged herself down the hallway.

Every attempt to meet up with Naruto alone had ended up in failure. The day was ending and club activities were starting. She just got out of a meeting with the student council and she was tired. She had told Ino to head home without her since she was going to get some studying done in the library.

Despite the pace she was currently moving at, she arrived at her destination fairly quickly.

The library was pretty empty, save for a few diligent students, not to mention the student librarian, whom she almost ran into.

Sakura noted that the girl was pretty much blind with the tower of books in front of her so it wasn't really her fault.

"Whoa, please excuse me," the girl said as soon as she realized Sakura was there.

Sakura paused for a moment. She recognized the voice.

"Would you like some help?" she offered.

"Oh, I really appreciate it," she replied happily.

"Glad I can help," Sakura said, taking the books and sitting them on a nearby table.

Now that her load had been cut in half, the girl would have little trouble seeing what was in front of her.

"Eh? Sakura?"

The pink haired girl in question blinked.

She definitely recognized this girl.

"Hinata?"

Hinata Hyuga was another one of her close friends, second to Ino. She was introverted at times, but she had little trouble talking to people. The guys in school thought of her to be quite pretty, almost like a princess. Well, she did come from a wealthy family so she probably really was one.

Seeing her here, moving books was a surprise.

"You're working here now?" Sakura asked.

"Yes. I've been here this semester," she replied.

Well, that explained why she didn't really see her much after school.

"What brings you here?" Hinata asked. "Aren't you supposed to be meeting with the student council today?"

"The meeting ended early," the pink haired girl replied. "I'm just here to get some studying done."

"I see."

Hinata glanced at the books on the table.

"There's only 1 more hour before the library closes, so I'm trying to finish as much as I can as possible."

"Oh, I'll help you," Sakura said, picking the books up from the table.

"Oh, but I don't want to get in the way of your-"

"It's fine," Sakura interjected, already lifting the books from the table. "I won't be studying for long anyway. Besides, we aren't in the same classroom this semester so it'll be a good chance to catch up."

Hinata stared blankly at her at first and then let a smile appear on her face.

"Okay."

* * *

It wasn't long before Sakura and Hinata had finished moving the books towards the front of the library. It was there that Hinata insisted that she would handle them at that point. After hearing that regular students could not venture into the storage room behind the front desk, Sakura really couldn't say no. Now that her task with the Hyuga girl was completed, she decided that she'd find a spot to sit down and do some light studying.

"I was beginning to wonder when you'd show up."

Sakura stopped and looked up to see that she had ventured towards the back of the library. There was a blond haired student sitting on the table with his foot on a chair. He closed the book he had in his hand and stood up in front of her. Sakura blinked.

"N-Naruto?"

Well this was a surprise. She spent most of the day trying to get to him; most of the day just for this chance to meet alone with him.

Now, all that effort she had put in for this chance made her feel like she had wasted a whole day. She felt somewhat silly for attempting it.

Her mind was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she almost didn't notice Naruto approaching her.

"Well now that we're here, let's talk," he said.

"Talk?" Sakura repeated. "How did you know that I'd be here?"

"Ino, I think that's her name," he answered coolly. "She told me that you'd be here after your student council meeting."

"Oh…" Sakura deflated. "I see."

Of all the people he spoke to, it had to be her. She had been teasing her about Naruto since lunch and now he just added to the fire.

She definitely wasn't looking forward to going home tonight.

"So…did you think you saw the last of me?" Naruto asked, smirking.

The pink haired girl returned a small smile.

"Honestly, I did," she answered. "I thought I'd never see you again after that incident."

"Are you disappointed?"

He sounded a little quieter than he had been so far. Sakura looked down at the table for a moment.

"…No."

She looked up at him with a bright smile.

"I'm glad to see you again."

Naruto stared at her, surprised. Just then, she noticed that his demonic red eyes had reverted to normal blue human eyes. He returned her smile.

"Same here," he said.

"I had discussed things with the pre—"she stopped herself. She had remembered a discussion with Tsunade about her. What else did people call her again? "—the director, about you. She told me that they couldn't allow you to roam around freely."

"With the way things are, it's not like they have the power to stop me," Naruto replied.

His eyes turned red again.

"I'm here by choice."

Sakura blinked in confusion.

"…by choice?"

"KONOHA's really short on manpower. I was asked to come here."

Sakura still didn't understand.

"You were asked?"

"There was a man behind that incident that took place last night. There's a chance that he'll come after you."

"So you were asked to guard me?"

It sounded more like a statement rather than a question. Looks like her life won't be going back to normal anytime soon.

"But wait…"

It just occurred to her.

"Why isn't there a manhunt going on for this guy? If he's so dangerous, then why let him roam free?"

Naruto shrugged.

"Who knows? He broke out of a maximum prison and managed to cripple a military demon hunting organization and its intelligence network. He's not a pushover. It's probably better if you go straight home tonight."

A sinister grin appeared on his face.

"Though, I have no objections of you roaming around late at night."

That last remark earned him a strange look from the pink haired girl. Since he was the demon king, it wasn't surprising.

He was right though. The man he told her about definitely wasn't to be tampered with, so going home was the best option.

She sighed.

Now that she knew why he was there, she felt more at ease. However, he was likely going to be walking her home.

She certainly wasn't looking forward to explaining that to Ino.

* * *

Hiruzen sat in his office, staring out of his window, taking in the view of the school courtyard. It was a peaceful setting painted with the colors of the approaching sunset. By now, all the remaining staff had finished up their work and had headed home for the evening so he was all alone now.

Rather, he was now alone with his visitor.

His guest had slipped into his office almost without him noticing. He smiled.

His skills had improved quite a lot since his departure.

"It's been a long time…director," the man said.

"Yes, it has," Hiruzen answered.

The elderly man did not turn to face his guest, but remained facing the window.

He already knew who it was.

"It's still rather surprising that you stepped down from your position to teach."

Hiruzen smirked.

"If you think about it, my position really hasn't changed," he said. "The only difference is my students aren't learning how to kill demons."

"That's true."

Hiruzen turned around and looked at his visitor for the first time to see him sitting comfortably in a chair in front of his desk.

"I heard about your recent checkout from the detention facility Seymour."

Orochimaru grinned.

"So Tsunade's told you hmm?" he sneered. "Then my coming here shouldn't come as a surprise. You are the only other person who would know why I would come to see you."

Hiruzen plastered a friendly smile on his face.

"Yes. Let's not waste any more time then."

Orochimaru chuckled.

"I'm glad that you understand."

* * *

Naruto stopped and looked back in the direction of the school.

There was something sinister in the air. He could feel it.

He was unable to keep himself from grinning.

"Naruto…?"

The blond glanced back. Sakura had noticed that he stopped walking along side her.

"Do you mind continuing home by yourself?"

Sakura stared blankly, surprised by the response.

"I don't mind but…"

"It turns out I forgot something at school. I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

"Sire, are you alright?"

Sasuke didn't answer his driver's question immediately. Instead he continued staring out of the backseat window.

For only a brief moment, he felt a sudden spike of dark energy.

Someone had used magic.

It was faint, but it hadn't occurred too far.

It appeared that there were others capable of using black magic. If he were to investigate, would he find Dr. Kabuto Yakushi?

* * *

There was a strange aura in the air.

The school was usually deserted at this hour, but the silence was deafening.

However, Naruto was convinced that there was someone else here. It was only a matter of finding them.

Earlier, he had sensed some demonic energy spike from this place. However, it had faded by the time he got here.

Could he have been mistaken? Could the energy spike have come from somewhere else? It seemed quite possible.

However, he was quickly losing interest. Naruto turned to leave.

He was about to see if he could catch up with Sakura when something stopped him. A peculiar scent filled the air. He recognized it instantly.

_Blood..._

And it was rather fresh too. Someone had died a rather brutal death very recently.

Naruto chuckled as he began walking towards the source.

It seemed that things were about to get interesting once again.

It wasn't long before Naruto found himself within the inner courtyard.

He scanned the area, looking for anything unordinary.

The courtyard was a large area surrounded by the school's structure. Students often came here during the breaks and he could see why too.

The scene before him was peaceful.

A large water fountain was centered in the courtyard. A brick walkway surrounded the fountain as well as various flowerbeds.

Ironically, this peaceful scenery was tainted with the stagnant stench of death.

However, Naruto could not locate the source. The victim had to be around here somewhere.

He took a step towards the fountain and turned around.

That's when he noticed some of the flowers stained in crimson.

"There's the blood…" he mused. "Now where's the…."

He looked up.

There was his victim.

The bloodied corpse was that of an elderly man wearing a suit. Most likely, it was the body of the school's headmaster Hiruzen Sarutobi. He almost didn't recognize him.

Blood seemed to be leaking from every hole that was on his body: his eyes, his nose, and his ears.

What's more, he was pinned to the wall and seemed to be held in place by the katana that was embedded deeply into his chest. It was a wonder that it kept him there rather than cleaving him in two.

However, this was clearly no ordinary murder.

In fact, it was quite a feat to kill a man, and pin him to a brick wall on should be the second floor of the building. Was the culprit a demon? Or perhaps a-?

"I miss him already."

Naruto turned around to see a dark figure strolling towards him. It was a man wearing a dark coat and with deathly pale skin and long dark hair.

"Sure he was a little too easy going, but he was still my master," the man said.

Naruto smirked.

"Your handiwork I'm assuming?" it sounded more like a statement rather than a question. "I should've figured."

"I see that you're doing well your majesty," the man replied.

"And I see that you could use a little more sun," Naruto quipped.

The man chuckled in response.

"Fair enough. I am more or less surprised to see you here."

Naruto eyed him questioningly.

"I wasn't expecting to run into you today, let alone learning you're a student of this school."

The blond chuckled.

"Funny, 'cause I didn't think I'd run into you again this soon either. Now, I can pay you back for shooting me in the head earlier."

The man tilted his head and smirked.

"Aw, you're not still mad about that are you? I thought that meant nothing to you."

"That's true that it won't kill me, but I do take that kind of thing personally."

"I'll be sure to remember that."

Naruto then grinned maniacally.

"In that case, now we can have some fun."

The man smirked.

"I'd love to, but I can't. I'm expecting company soon."

As soon as the man said that, Naruto opened his mouth to protest, but stopped as he suddenly felt another presence within the school. He looked back to ascertain which direction it was coming from. Was it Sakura? Or could it have been the company that this man was expecting?

He returned his attention back to the man in question—

-Only to see the space where the man had been standing. He had vanished without a trace.

"Great. Now where'd he go?"

"Whoever he is…."

Naruto looked back to see a young man standing at the entrance.

"….he's the least of your concerns."

Naruto chuckled.

"Oh really? And who might you be?"

The young man didn't respond. Instead, he quietly removed his glasses and pocketed them.

Naruto's grin faded.

"….Your eyes….they're—"

It was all he was able to get out before the young man instantly closed the gap in between them. Suddenly, Naruto felt a sharp pain in his abdomen and looked down towards the source.

The young man had impaled him with his katana.

"W-What?"

Something was wrong. He shouldn't have been feeling this much pain. Not only that, his strength was leaving him.

He quickly came to the conclusion that this was no ordinary sword. It was most likely imbued with magic. But that meant…

"Devil…hunter…!" Naruto wheezed out.

"I didn't think that I'd find you this easily," the young man said. "I'm really glad I did. I don't have to use the girl now."

"…Girl…?"

"I heard that you were a hero once. Be that hero once more and die."

* * *

**Well, there you have it, my latest update.**

**Looking back on the length of time it took me to get the climax (of the chapter) down, I'm beginning to worry about my creativity. I thought up 3 different scenarios before finally settling on this one so I guess my imagination's not doing too bad. Fortunately, I still have the scenarios and plot direction in my head so I'll be able to keep writing when I'm able.**

**On another note, I guess I've been off for a while since I can't help but note the DRASTIC changes that's been made.**

**Interface aside, now there's an image management control where you can add covers to your fanfics. I'm now able to put my visual representation of my fanfic as a story cover...How awesome is that? **

**Though don't expect that from me anytime soon as I lack the equipment and software**

**Well anyway, leave a review and tell me what you think. In the mean time, I think I'll start on the next chapter while it's still fresh in my mind.**


	19. Author's Update

**I have a confession to make.**

**My heart's not in it anymore to continue in the direction that this story is heading.**

**I know that many of you were looking forward to the inevitable showdown between this version of Naruto and Sasuke. **

**I was too.**

**But to be honest, chapter 18 believe it or not, was me grasping at straws.**

**At the moment I'm going to do some editing and some reconstruction because mainly the number of chapters here is kind of ridiculous (18 chapters and it's only been 2 days story-wise).**

**So, I'm going to edit them and compress them.**

**Now this isn't just an attempt to make the chapters longer, part of it is. The main reason is because I am trying to limit the amount of chapters for this story. I kind of want to lay off the whole long running storytelling here since I already have one of those ongoing stories already and that's challenging enough as is. Another reason is told me that the pacing of the story is moving too fast…sort of. With this compression, I'll have a bit more room to develop some of the story elements that I've been neglecting. I'll admit, it'll be challenging given the direction it's already taken, but I'll find a way….hopefully.**

**The final reason that I want to limit the chapters is because having so many will start to interfere with some of my future plans. I have many stories to tell, but I got to limit how many I tell at a time otherwise, they'll never end.**

**Now the compressions will be as follows:**

**Chapters 1 – 6 will be chapter 1**

**7 – 9 will be chapter 2**

**10 – 11 will be chapter 3**

**12 – 15 will be chapter 4**

**16 – 18 will be chapter 5**

**Now with this, I'd say I have quite a bit of room to work with here. However if things still don't work out I've also considered starting over in a new direction. I'm tempted to start over, especially because of the ideas that are swimming around. I'll just pen them for now.**

**Funny enough though, I actually just came up with the idea of compressing the chapters as I was typing this out and now I kind of want to give this another shot. But with some of the glaring elements in the story that needs a desperate fixing, it might be a long shot.**

**Well anyway, this is just a heads up on what's going on with this fic. I'll have this notice up for a few days then I'll start the updating process.**

**If there are any questions, concerns, or if you just want to chat it up, then just send me a PM. **


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